Selected Piece - Poetry

by - Ori Rum Zemet, Israel

I smell Savta’s cooking before I even open the door

Couscous, spicy fish, beef stew

She pulls me in for a hug, loving and warm

The candles are lit, her eyes are too

We sing Shalom Aleichem, my dad bangs on the table with a smile

I teasingly tell him to stop

Soon the rest join him with happy, dancing eyes

I too bang my hand on the tabletop

Saba says the prayer; the wine glass is passed around

I drink some too, just a small sip

He throws pieces of challah in every direction

I laugh as one falls into the tahini dip

Salads and jokes are sprinkled around the table

We all chat; I hear snippets of different conversations:

Politics, school, stories of the past

Inspiring - to be in the presence of different generations

Savta comes out with food piled high

My stomach rumbles; mouth watering at the sight

We eat, and we drink, and we laugh, and we argue

I bathe in the safety of this familiar night

Soon the table is vacated but for mom, Savta and my aunt

I collapse into my usual spot on the couches

My sister claims the broken massage chair

Dad turns on the TV to watch sports, and slouches

Dessert is brought out; we scramble back to our plates

Cheesecake, brownies, Moroccan mint tea

I ask for more cake, but mom refuses

Savta sneaks me some anyway, and I am filled with glee

The candles have now burned out, but we haven’t yet

We’ll be here next week to do this all over

As I look at my smiling Savta, her hand in Saba’s

I think of how we’re luckier than a four-leaf clover

Of how two different people from two different worlds

Made this family, made us a home

Savta and Saba pull me in for a hug, loving and warm

Their eyes shine with love, mine do too