esther and moe lived at 9 paloma
at speedway
i always considered them
to be
my other set of parents
my jewish side of the family
they’d laugh at me
when we went to Zucky’s
i’d always get lox bagels & cream cheese
and i had to have the
chocolate milk, tall & cold
not a chocolate creme
plain old chocolate milk
the combo tickled them
such a goy, they’d laugh!
covering me with kisses
today i had lox bagels & cream cheese
tomato and capers
red onions barely waved over
black pepper on the tomato
it made me sleepy
made me think of
esther & moe
princess, neisha, ira, mike
their faces and their generous hearts
the chocolate soymilk
wasn’t quite the same
moe would always make
a pot of chicken soup
with matzo balls
when i’d get sick
and you could never leave
9 paloma
without an armload of trinkets
from esther’s treasures
i loved them
dearly
i always wonder
why no one called
to tell me
when they died
