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
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! 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. Worried I’d catch a cold, she jogged us home from the pool, sprinting upstairs to draw me a warm bath. “Get in, Mara, […]
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 […]
Khan el-Khalili, White, Texas, Pink Enamel
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Khan el-Khalili © 2010Until you have experienced Khan el-KhaliliSmack dab in the center of Al’Qahira, Cairo you have not livedThe heat in the summer and the excruciating bone cold of the winterYour fi ngers damp and cold to the touch in December and JanuaryAnd still sweat dripping […]
Tasbih
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Rosaries to melook like yoursBut ours are called tasbihsWe wear ours around our necks; we wrap them several times around our wristsThey come with us on appointments,They keep us company when we go to bed.Our rosaries are made of rare woods,from Syria, Turkey, and DubaiSome are made […]
Tiny Love Stories: ‘What the Ukrainian Grandmothers Have Written’
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! My sons in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for their Aqiqah, an Islamic tradition. It is usually done when a child is seven days old, but it can be done until puberty. Symbols of Hope Every 30 or so years, Ramadan and Passover coincide. My mother is Jewish; my father is Muslim. […]