I AM FROM CHATCHKIES

I am from Chatchkies, Malomars and Swig Jewish camp.

I am from the the scraps of clay left on the messy ground after a cold Saturday morning pottery class.

I am from my backyard, its snapdragons and plum tree.

I am from “The Top of the World” and the weeping willow under which I sang “Killing Me Softly” to man audience of my sister and panda bear Sergio.

I am from Passovers and silly baby talk voices that meant a cute animal was near, From Gary Hilton and Carol Flaxman.

I am from the go-to-college and “eat bagels 'til you die.” From clean up your room, Inspector Daddy is coming and gladiator versus contender wrestling matches with my big sister.

I am from Jewish humor, Hanukkah gelt and dreidel tournaments, and yearly competitions to find a hidden afikoman that I rarely ever won.

I'm from Ukraine before it was called Ukraine, a war-torn, anti-semitic Europe, from linguini's and clam sauce and American-cheese quesadillas. From the paralyzed body of my father's father, the cigarette smoke that finally killed my father's mother and the broken trust of my sister that shattered us all into fragmented pieces.

I am from cheesy family videos, hikes in Yosemite, “Show me the Way to Go Home” car songs, and old red velvet boxes full of shiny plastic costume jewelry... the kind that we would drape around us like hugs from great-grandparents who were long gone, who we never knew, whose stories we never heard and whose love we never got the chance to feel.

By: Lauren Stower aka Ms. Luna ©2012 (Teacher, Activist, Poet, Photographer, Revolutionary)