Explore Poems: Hanukkah

In a world where each man must be of use
and each thing useful, the rebellious Jews
light not one light…

A row of tall skinny candles burns
quickly into the night
air, the shames raised
over the rest
for its hard work

Darkness rushes in
after the sun sinks
like a bright plug pulled.
Our eyes drown in night
thick as ink pudding

When even the moon
starves to a sliver
of...

This season for us, the Jews—
a season of candles,
                                      one more
on the seven-branched candlestick for
the seven days of the week,
                                                  but let it be seven
in the sense of luck in dice,
                                          seven of the stars in
the constellations:
                                  Orion, Aldebaran in...

Mighty, praised beyond compare,
Rock of my salvation,
Build again my house of prayer,
For Thy habitation!
Offering and libation, shall a ransomed nation
Joyful bring
There, and sing
Psalms of Dedication!
 
Woe was mine in Egypt-land,
(Tyrant kings enslaved me);
Till Thy mighty, out-stretched Hand
From oppression saved me.
Pharaoh, rash...

Here, where the noises of the busy town,
   The ocean's plunge and roar can enter not,
We stand and gaze around with tearful awe,
   And muse upon the consecrated spot.

No signs of life are here: the very prayers
   Inscribed around are in a language...

Light the first of eight tonight—
the farthest candle to the right.

Light the first and second, too,
when tomorrow's day is through.

Then light three, and then light four—
every dusk one candle more

Till all eight burn bright and high,
honoring a day gone by

When...

Our annual prairie Chanukah party—
latkes, kugel, cherry blintzes.
Friends arrive from nearby towns
and dance the twist to “Chanukah Lights Tonight,”
spin like a dreidel to a klezmer hit.

The candles flicker in the window.
Outside, ponderosa pines are tied in red bows.
If you squint,
the...

The letters of the Jews as strict as flames   
Or little terrible flowers lean
Stubbornly upwards through the perfect ages,   
Singing through solid stone the sacred names.   
The letters of the Jews are black and clean   
And lie in chain-line over Christian pages.   
The chosen letters...