Please, just one more cup of tea. Will it be cold? Will there be latkes? What should I tell the children
when they’re making the latkes? Will I be able to see where you’re taking me?
Some perch on a cloud, or a blurry land of souls. Can I be a hungry ghost chatting up the newbies?
Who are you, exactly? A whirlpool? A fiery tree? Do you smile? Do you wear sunglasses?
Will I need sunglasses? Do I have to leave my stuff? Can I be buried with a latke?
My poems? An onion? Can I listen to music? My music. Not harps.
How can I kiss the children without upsetting the latke pan?
D. Dina Friedman
D. Dina Friedman has published fiction and poetry in many literary journals (including The Sun, Aji, Cider Press Review, Hawaii Pacific Review,Lilith, Negative Capability, Rhino, Common Ground Review, Crab Orchard Review, Steam Ticket, Naugatuck River Review, Blue Stem, and Anderbo) and received two Pushcart Prize nominations for poetry and fiction. She is the author of two YA novels, Escaping Into the Night (Simon and Schuster) and Playing Dad’s Song (Farrar Straus Giroux) and one chapbook of poetry, Wolf in the Suitcase (Finishing Line Press). Visit her website at www.ddinafriedman.com.
