by Sxdni Small (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin)
My grandparents spoke Yiddish born of shtetls and teeming East side apartments,
Hebrew, Russian and English flowed too, from lips stretched thin on weary faces.
Voices of marketplace and shul, an ancient people in a new land,
ancestors who formed a treasure trove of tongues built from centuries of memory.
Herring in cream sauce and dense rye bread in a muggy Chicago apartment,
chocolate babka, deep and rich as whispered Yiddish lullabies,
sweet or savory kugel, a timeless dilemma.
Tzimmes, gefilte fish, plump kreplach, honey cake
calling for homage paid to the shrine of Ashkenazi gastronomy.
Windswept souls of Diaspora keen us home,
those who are still more than shadow.
I remember them, as they cannot.
Because they were, I rise.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sxdni Small grew up in a Jewish household where books and community organizing were household staples. Sxdni is a member of the Wisconsin Writer’s Association. For several years they helped proof and wrote articles for their synagogue newsletter. Their pieces have also appeared in Milwaukee’s Jewish Chronicle. You can read their short story, “The Friendship Trip,” in the March, 2025 issue of Creative Wisconsin Magazine.
In their free time, Sxdni is also a devoted dog training geek and enjoys a soothing cup of honeybush tea while reading about what makes authors tick. This is their first published poem.
The Jewish Writing Project 