Some people come to hear the story,
the wonders and the signs,
the rationale of rituals gory,
and read between the lines
the tale they wish to hear: the wise,
the wicked and the plain,
the one who does not ask, four guys
who cannot feel the pain
their ancestors once felt, and joy
their father cannot wait
to share with them. They don’t annoy
if they participate
by asking father questions, he
is happy they have come,
however wayward they may be,
or simple, even dumb,
though dumbness is the worst, sad choice
one makes: he loves the most
the questions that three ask, their voice
replacing Paschal roast.
The wise one learns no story, for
he only studies laws,
the wicked one, not shown the door,
is made to clench his jaws,
the simple one is told a tale
a child could understand,
the fourth one’s head is like a tail
since he does not demand,
with questions, explanations
of Jewish history,
like heads or tails, its expectations
a mighty mystery.
This Passover he gets a pass,
while we hope that he’ll ask
next year the questions that, alas,
his mind and mouth now mask.
Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored “Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel.” He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.
