Of Language

if i went back in time

beyond my generation

and the one before my

grandparents stepped

on ellis island to the 

old country with different

languages and a clock set

hours earlier i’d look for

the town they called home

and walk through the streets

past open markets

along the pathways to learn

the  past that remains 

within my bones when I

use my finger to trace

the  shapes of countries 

where my ancestors

lived in shetels

and spoke yiddish