LUST FOR LATKES

STANKIEWICZ, EDWARD

LUST FOR LATKES EDWARD STANKIEWICZ A Jew, he almost genuflects When't comes to food, not even sex Can send such shivers through his spine, "Ah mechayeh, just divine." But in our garden one dish...

...A latke sends you, it inspires, It titillates with fresh desires...
...The source of joy and eternal spring, Of Thee, wondrous latke, of Thee we sing...
...A Jew'll pursue with zest and mania The whiff of kishke from Rumania, He'll call a Shabbos meal his princess, And lick his fingers after blintzes...
...A Jew brought up on mama's culture Will shout, "throw those dishes to the vulture, I will not touch that stuff at all If I can have a matzah ball...
...That the Turk has invented shishkabob, Which no fine palate can idly snub, That Indian kurkum, or Chinese foo-young Is a feast from the East for the choosy tongue...
...A Jew develops from the cradle A craving for knish and knaidel...
...Pity the gentile and the heathen What have they got that we don't have, Yid'n...
...No Jew could possibly endorse That yell, "My kingdom for a horse," But he would give his shirt and gatkes For a couple of mama's latkes...
...Though some may insist with serious mien, That the gentile, too, has a fine cuisine...
...Some Jews will hail with shofar, bugle The Glory of a lokschen kugel, But I—I am in a state of blish When I see a latke dish...
...Faced with the gentile's cuisine and variety, A Jew will not lose his nerve or piety, Recalling his mother's strudel dessert He will say: "I have those things in dr'erd...
...LUST FOR LATKES EDWARD STANKIEWICZ A Jew, he almost genuflects When't comes to food, not even sex Can send such shivers through his spine, "Ah mechayeh, just divine...
...Latke, latke sizzling bright In the skillet, on that night...
...He'll glorify gefilte fish, But I—I love the latke dish...
...Many Jews have made their slogan A pot of kreplach or pirogen, But I say: "kreplach, schmeplach' nothing Delights so much as latke puffing...
...Why speak of the hamantasch...
...That the French with endive salad and brie, Have made European history, That Italian spaghetti at one glance Transports you into the Renaissance, That even the German sauerkraut Can't be thrown to a vulgar snout...
...But in our garden one dish is most noble, Ancient, regal, mysterious, global, Only one dish is the dish of dishes — Fluffy round, profound, delicious...
...Oh, what skillful hand or eye Has shaped thy golden symmetry...
...Not to speak of Gevetsh de Pest, Praised by gourmets from Budapest...
...In what fragrant oil or grease Did you rise to please, to tease Our palate with your crunchy crust, So soft inside, to make us lust, To fill our hearts with ardent passion That can't be stilled by hamantaschen...
...The hamantasch is but a nosh...
...A Jew will put his soul and talent Into cholant, known too as "schalet," He'll bless the Lord or shout "hurrah" When tasting garlic in ptschah...
...The sphere of spheres, the circled line, The magic "O," the fresser's shrine, Jacob's ladder, King David's psalm, A world of wisdom you can hold in your palm...

Vol. 2 • December 1976 • No. 3


 
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