December 10, 2007
A Hanukkah Poem
We're in the home stretch of Hanukkah and so I thought everyone could use a little poetic inspiration.
Over the weekend, I read the following in my local newspaper and I thought it was nice for this time of year.
It's a poem by Steven P. Schneider, a professor at the University of Texas Pan-American, and the author, most recently, of Prairie Air Show: Poems
Chanukah Lights Tonight
Our annual prairie Chanukah party—
latkes, kugel, cherry blintzes.
Friends arrive from nearby towns
and dance the twist to “Chanukah Lights Tonight,”
spin like a dreidel to a klezmer hit.
The candles flicker in the window.
Outside, ponderosa pines are tied in red bows.
If you squint,
the neighbors' Christmas lights
look like the Omaha skyline.
The smell of oil is in the air.
We drift off to childhood
where we spent our gelt
on baseball cards and matinees,
cream sodas and potato knishes.
No delis in our neighborhood,
only the wind howling over the crushed corn stalks.
Inside, we try to sweep the darkness out,
waiting for the Messiah to knock,
wanting to know if he can join the party.