Litva Eating Memory
Kinder, I was her child until childhood grew teeth
she was mine Bubbe until memory learned hunger
my little town swallows itself along the river
while moss grows backwards into time
Prince Garden Apartments’ Swimming Pool
Bubbe wrapped me in a towel, baked in the Arizona sun, draping herself in the same green-ratted robe she’d worn since my first memory.
Bubbe’s Potato Latke Grater
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor and refugee who, after the war, was given a choice of three destinations. She chose the United States and settled in Brooklyn, where her brother already lived. There she built a new life, working as an office cleaner and raising my mother. […]
My Lithuanian Holocaust Survivor Grandmother—
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! BEFORE: Hot water burbled in samovars. You strolled cobblestone streets, clicking your heels. DURING: You sipped grass soup. Dug the ditch for your murdered mother. AFTER: You slaved stitching stockings in sweatshops. My alcoholic grandfather cracked open your skull with a cast-iron skillet. You danced at Roseland Ballroom, smelling of bleach […]
I Will Always Be Muslim and Jewish
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I’ve long felt shame that I knew much more about my Muslim heritage than my Jewish side, but this year, I’m diving in. I don’t know how to read or write Hebrew. I haven’t memorized a single prayer. I am illiterate regarding Judaism, yet I’m Jewish — a truth I […]
Bunks
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I’ve heard all these years about the bunks and their hardness. I’ve never felt them. I’ve only heard their stories. But, now I’m in a bunk, and I probably shouldn’t be here. I’m breaking rules as usual. I want to feel what this hard surface feels like […]