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Poem

Shulamit Apfel

MY NAME IS APFEL


My name is Apfel like the head of the neo-Nazis in Saxony
I’ve been criticized in public for not taking a Hebrew name
my father was Polish my mother Romanian my grandmother born in a part of Russia
that’s now the Ukraine
I was born in Cyprus my husband was Sephardic
both my grandfathers were Communists when they were young
my beloved comes from Emmanuel
and if he had remained there
my daughters would have been accepted to an ultra-Orthodox school
a Jewish woman doesn’t have to think about sex to get a headache.

קוראים לי lefpA

קוראים לי lefpA

 
קוֹרְאִים לִי Apfel כְּמוֹ לְרֹאשׁ הַתְּנוּעָה הַנֵּאוֹ-נָאצִית בְּסַקְסוֹנְיָה
נָזְפוּ בִּי פַּעַם בְּפֻמְבֵּי שֶׁלֹּא עִבְרַתִּי אֶת הַשֵּׁם
אָבִי הָיָה פּוֹלָנִי אִמִּי נוֹלְדָה בְּרוֹמַנְיָה  סָבָתִי נוֹלְדָה בְּרוּסְיָה
עַכְשָׁו אוּקְרָאִינָה
נוֹלַדְתִּי בְּקַפְרִיסִין בַּעֲלִי הָיָה סְפָרַדִּי
שְׁנֵי הַסַּבִּים שֶׁלִּי הָיוּ קוֹמוּנִיסְטִים בִּצְעִירוּתָם
אֲהוּבִי הָיָה מֵעִמָּנוּאֵל
אִם הוּא הָיָה נִשְׁאָר שָׁם
הַבָּנוֹת שֶׁלּוֹ לֹא הָיוּ מִתְקַבְּלוֹת לְ"בֵּית יַעֲקֹב"
יְהוּדִיָה לֹא צְרִיכָה לַחְשֹׁב עַל סֶקְס כְּדֵי לְקַבֵּל כְּאֵב רֹאשׁ
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MY NAME IS APFEL


My name is Apfel like the head of the neo-Nazis in Saxony
I’ve been criticized in public for not taking a Hebrew name
my father was Polish my mother Romanian my grandmother born in a part of Russia
that’s now the Ukraine
I was born in Cyprus my husband was Sephardic
both my grandfathers were Communists when they were young
my beloved comes from Emmanuel
and if he had remained there
my daughters would have been accepted to an ultra-Orthodox school
a Jewish woman doesn’t have to think about sex to get a headache.

MY NAME IS APFEL


My name is Apfel like the head of the neo-Nazis in Saxony
I’ve been criticized in public for not taking a Hebrew name
my father was Polish my mother Romanian my grandmother born in a part of Russia
that’s now the Ukraine
I was born in Cyprus my husband was Sephardic
both my grandfathers were Communists when they were young
my beloved comes from Emmanuel
and if he had remained there
my daughters would have been accepted to an ultra-Orthodox school
a Jewish woman doesn’t have to think about sex to get a headache.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère