In light of the massacre in Pittsburgh…

I AM A JEW

Do I have a choice?
They changed the name
trading in the awkward scrawl
for the short, spare efficiency–
a “JONES”
is now on my back.
This Jew
still peeks through
my body stoops
as if to “daven”
a hint of Yiddish urchin twang–
the monkish bald spot
a Yarmulke
fits perfectly.
At dusk
I down the white bread–
secretly savor
the dark rye
and realize in
the dead of night
that the
blood
doesn’t lie.

— Doug Holder