you know…i

still look for you

grandpa and

startle

into

soft familiar

places every

time i see

ashkenazi eyes…

..for

one startling moment i

become a small dove wanting

to nestle in olive

groves

because once upon

my childhood…you were there when

mother and father couldn’t

tame

me…

i was a howling

monkey in

newborn diapers ….until
your hands planted

me

like tiny

trees  in

soft blankets … and

your soft winds

rocked me to

sleep

I still look

for you grandpa …

…still

hear your

heartbeat in

olive groves ..

still

hear

your shalom in

howling

winds …

still think of you on

Shabbat…