William Finn Passover
Passover
At Aunty Honey's and Uncle Harvey's in New Jersey
My sister would hold her breath
Over the George Washington bridge
And we would laugh at her
She'd frown
Everyone, including Nana Ida
Would be standing by the front door
As we pulled up and we'd count down
Four, three, two, one!
And we'd fight to be the first out of the car
Having come this far
Having come so far for this feast
This feast of new yeast
And the matzo balls are so hard when you cut them they just fly
Why?
Passover
On this day
We read of plagues and misfortunes, then start eating
Uncle Harvey's the cook
Ma laughed so loud that she shook
Cousin Gary
Is reading porn
We've run out of skullcaps, some men are wearing
Acapulco Beach Club bandanas that really, really, really should not be worn
We are Jews from like the first 5,000 years
Laughing through our tears
Joyous, vulgar, anything goes
But we wear nice clothes
That's the way I like remembering this scene: manic and high
Why?
Passover
In the Passover prayer book
We read about what Pharaoh did to the Jews
About how Pharaoh wore those big gold platform shoes
And how the Jews escaped stealthily
By splitting the Red Sea
Wait, wait!
I think that was a movie
Anyway, when I tell the story of Passover
Which I am instructed to do
I will include how the Jews of Natick traveled over the Hudson river
And had an unforgettable seder
More details about that later...
...It's later!
Michael, as the youngest, sings out the four old questions
What they mean is unknown
My father is playing trombone
Then we go to meet
Elijah at the door
I can see the faces 'round the table
And the grins are getting larger
And the voices begin to soar
One, two, three, four!
And I think that we will never laugh so hard
Never feel so free
I think life that night was more perfect than it will ever be
Uncle Bernie and my mother overwhelmed begin to cry
Why?
Passover
Uncle Bernie passed over
Uncle Harvey passed over
Nana Ida passed over
And my mother
My mother passed over
Passover
Passover
