You noticed I bought a book
by Eli Bartmann. His tome of
Selected Poems. 88-hundred
pages.
Now there’s a man who’s
humble, remarking with a
sneer. I shrug it off at first
but then you make a beeline
for his tallit, in response to your
keffiyeh
that was worn throughout the
protest at which we marched
and gladly so.
He’s a fucking Nazi,
hiding it in his prayers.
It’s even there
in his ethnicity—
the AshkeNAZI.
Of course he is, my love,
I think but do not say. I saw him at
Bar Mitzvahs, humming
Edelweiss, taking goosesteps
towards the knish.
Downing pretzels in the shape of
swastikas.
There’s a town near Kirkland
Lake, who’ve proudly kept
their name: Swastika, Ontario.
They had it years
before Herr Hitler. Dubbed it
after their one-time
mine of gold.
Adding the Hindus carved it first
in all their temples.
I imagine my coup de grâce,
tell you Bartmann will be
there to give a reading.
Don a schirmmütze
on his head—in lieu of his
kippah. Bring Norman
Goldstein along , the man who
forges silver in spite of his
name. Six-million
Magen Davids. Swears
they sell like latkes
in Calcutta.
Andreas Gripp
February 23, 2025
NOTES:
The Ashkenazi are a Jewish people who settled in central and eastern Europe in the centuries following the diaspora of 70 AD.
88 is sometimes used by the far right to symbolize Heil Hitler.
A tallit is a fringed shawl worn by Jewish people during prayer.
A keffiyeh is a headdress or a scarf worn most prominently by Palestinians, as a sign for their liberation.
The German word Edelweiss, which is a flower that grows in the Alps, is a combination of edel which means noble, and weiss which means white.
A knish is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish snack made up of a filling covered with dough.
Swastika, Ontario, is a town of 500 people.
A schirmmütze is a peaked hat worn by the German SS.
A kippah is synonymous with a yarmulke/yamaka.
The Magen David is the six-pointed Star of David.
Latkes are a potato pancake in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.
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