Elaine G. Schwartz

GAZA*

Listen to Audio Version read by Jill Khoury.

What is so compelling as the eyes of a child?
Crossing the green line of innocence, the eyes of a child

Cluster bombs scatter willfully across the schoolyard
Bring a deadly game of hopscotch to the eyes of a child

Grains of white desert sand sift through broken fingers
Measure time until bullets silence the whys of a child

Ancient tongues proclaim the death knell of olive trees
Pomegranates bleed through the milky sighs of a child

The village tailor sews bones together again and again
Baskets of figs bring moon-silver delight to the eyes of a child

The pregnant white mare canters across the village square
Her steaming nostrils caress the wind-tossed sighs of a child

Hold tight the ancient house key, the well-worn walking stick
Leather sandals stir the dust but cannot mute the cries of a child

Crescent moon sheds silent grace upon the village ruins
And you, Esther, are lost in the questioning eyes of a child

* * *

AUNTIE MARGARET'S HUNGARIAN PASTRY

Listen to Audio Version read by Jill Khoury.

If it weren't true would Auntie Margaret's blurry blue tattoo come into view
as she lights the Sabbath candles, welcomes the Sabbath bride?

Would her buttery Hungarian pastry melt in our mouths like manna from heaven?

If it weren't true would she still remember the recipe – a few handfuls of flour,
a large lump or two of butter, a bit of sugar, and a pinch of freshly ground cinnamon?

Would her work worn hands knead and knead, stretch and stretch this rich buttery dough?

If it weren't true would she walk to the synagogue every Friday night, a pastry-laden plate in her hands?

Would her Auschwitz blue tattoo be expunged by a clean orderly home, a pot of aromatic coffee, and a plate of rich flaky Hungarian pastry?

*"Gaza" was first published on The Ghazal Page. "Auntie Margaret's Hungarian Pastry" was previously published in Mizmor L'David Anthology, Volume I: The Shoah.

Elaine G. Schwartz resides in Albuquerque, NM where she writes, gardens and works hard to keep up with her two rambunctious grandsons. Schwartz describes her poetry as a tapestry of place and political imagination. It has appeared in numerous publications including the Santa Fe Literary Review, Malpais Review and Poetica.