Chain Migration
It takes ten men
to make a Minyan,
but only one name
of God for us to share,
so we settled on
America, one by one,
we settled on America,
man and woman.
My grandfather
earned his way over
shoveling coal
in the hold of a boat.
My grandmother sewed
gold into her coat. In secret
they sewed, they sold,
they glowed. I dream of
gold. God’s name
in gold milked
and honeyed
in the dust
beneath our boots—
our dust.
And when they made
a Minyan and didn’t
realize it? And when
they married in
and didn’t realize it?
No matter: they sewed,
they sold, they glowed.
Yes, they sold
their solid gold, sold gold
into gold, sewed gold
together into dust.
When I was born
they gave me
a dead man’s name.
But that’s true
for everyone.
I’m Arielle Angel, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents. Before you go, there’s something I need to ask.
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Joshua Gottlieb-Miller lives with his wife and son in Houston, where he is a PhD candidate at the University of Houston and Digital Nonfiction Editor for Gulf Coast.
