I Am  

by Hedy Straus

I am from the sacred Heart of Jesus
buried deep inside a kreplach
I am from jelly donuts after mass
on the way home from shul
I’m from matzoh
and the Irish soda bread of affliction
I’m wandering in the desert
looking for my catechism class
I’m from my bubbe in Tereisenstadt
and my zayde in Auschwitz
My first holy communion dress is stained
with bloody magenta borscht
I’m Police Chief Callahan’s great-granddaughter
I’m the shiksa at the bar mitzvah
the kike at the communion rail
I’m from the Straus family
500 years of us in Germany
Mein yiddishe Daddy
the last of his line
got out with his life
and the seed of mine
I’m from this man and the gentile girl he picked
for his Madonna/his Mary
I’m from this Mary Culliton
I’ve got her Irish voice in my throat
I’m using it now, and loud
to chant Kaddish for them both
to call to them, to myself
to gather us all
all the pieces
in one place

2002