The Old Jew
kisses the Old Fingers
of her Old Hand,
strokes the OId Mezuzah
with its Old Scroll
nailed to the Old Doorframe
of her Old Home,
slips her Old Shoes
off her Old Feet,
shrugs her Old Coat
off her Old Shoulders,
drops her Old Bones
into an Old Chair,
lifts the Old Cat
onto her Old Lap,
pushes her Old Toes
against the Old Floor,
rocks to the Old Rhythm
of an Old Song
sung in an Old Tongue
that fills her Old Mouth
with Old Words
while the Old Worry
fills her Old Head:
What will Become of her
in the Days to Come?
It’s an old Old Story,
an Old Jew
in an Old Body,
an Old Soul
in an Old World,
sown with the Oldest Hatred
that never gets old.
–
Lesléa Newman has created 85 books for readers of all ages including the memoirs-in-verse, I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father, the novel-in-verse, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard, and the children’s books, Sparkle Boy and Heather Has Two Mommies. She has received two National Jewish Book Awards, two American Library Association Stonewall Honors, a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Massachusetts Book Award. She is a past poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts and currently teaches at the Naslund-Mann School of Professional Writing.
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