Poems for Passover, part II.

Passover Matzah

by Marge Piercy

Flat you are as a door mat
and as homely.
No crust, no glaze, you lack
a cosmetic glow.
You break with a snap.
You are dry as a twig
split from an oak
in midwinter.
You are bumpy as a mud basin
in a drought.
Square as a slab of pavement,
you have no inside
to hide raisins or seeds.
You are pale as the full moon
pocked with craters.

What we see is what we get
honest, plain, dry
shining with nostalgia
as if baked with light
instead of heat.
The bread of flight and haste
In the mouth you
promise, home.

Comment: This poem pretty much describes matzah perfectly! Poor matzah. It's dry and flavorless and yet it makes yummy, yummy soup. I always get nostalgic this time of the year. Not for Easter, but for Passover. My immediate family is not very religious but we always went over to my Aunt's house for Passover Seder. In fact, it's only been in the last five years where I haven't celebrated Passover. Even in college and in New York, I would travel back to New Jersey for at least one night. It was a very special holiday because my Aunt made it a special one for all of us. Anyway, even if you don't observe it, I thougth these two poems were short and sweet and helped me fondly remember aspects of the holiday. I was actually going to post a poem I wrote in college about Passover Seder, but after reading it realized it wasn't very good. I might actually now (nearly ten years later) do the revisions the poetry teacher suggested!