Passover-Eating Matzah

“ The world is the host-it must be chewed.”

Was Cheever at my Seder?

Did he see us munch away at the Matzah?

 Matzah, the Jewish host of life, the flesh

of every Jewish christ on earth?

Simple dough and water- dry land and seas,

the everything of this planet,

to be chewed with gusto 

 Satiated on matzah, do we transubstantiate?

Crunching the crispy furrows of cardboard tasting wafers 

into softened mush, the warmth of our tongues watering the dryness

of hearts into living places of feeling and life,

 into the living flesh of  divine beings?

Do we now know the answer to the four questions of life-

why is this night different? 

The Seder we chew on-

tell and retell stories, 

drink the bloody red wine, 

sample sprigs of green,

 ingest the bitterness of human suffering,

 burn the lining of our guts, 

 fill bellies with a banquet of smells and tastes-

so much chewing, our jaws weary and sore,

finally  reclining , satisfied smiles on our reddened faces, we spit out songs of praise and thanksgiving!

Next year in Jerusalem!

 But  for now we clean up and drag our tired bodies to bed,

 and  again, drift into the darkness of night,

but tonight we  know -nirzah, we have chewed the sacrificial meal and it is pleasing to the liberating spirits on high.