…with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ~ Exodus 12:8
This bitterness, usually horseradish
is for the memory of building cities.
in a place where the locals refuse to
acknowledge we were ever there.
This bitterness, which could have been
a type of dandelion is for the names
erased from Egyptian cornerstones.
This bitterness, matching in volume the
size of in olive, is for our ancestors’ feet
that walked out of Egypt, but died in the
desert before reaching the promised land.
This bitterness, eaten over a few minutes
before dousing it with sweet mortar
is for the people who erase slaves’ names
from Federal websites. Harriet Tubman
may not appear next to the electronic
documentation of the Underground Railroad
but she’ll always hold space in this poem.
This bitterness, it shouldn’t be cooked
or mixed with anything, just raw bitterness
is for our cousins who take space in that
promised land, surrounded by neighbors
who re-write history every day.
This quaint bitterness on our plates
every seder, by law, by tradition is for
an explosion of unwelcome news –
our melting planet, our missiles, our
invaded borders, our suddenly
Greenland and Canada are problems.
This bitterness
of which there is no shortage –
Are you tasting it on your tongue
long enough?
Rick Lupert, a poet, songleader and graphic designer, is the author of 28 books including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion.” Visit him at www.JewishPoetry.net
