Poetry Sunday: Chanukah Lights Tonight by Steven Schneider

We are in the midst of the eight days of Hanukkah and so it seems appropriate to feature a poem about the holiday. 

This may not be the first image that comes to mind when thinking of the holiday but Steven Schneider writes of Hanukkah on the prairie with "the wind howling over the crushed corn stalks."  Wherever it is observed, the Hanukkah, or Chanukah, lights drive away the darkness and offer hope.

Chanukah Lights Tonight

by Steven Schneider


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 neighbors’ Christmas lights
look like the Omaha skyline.

The smell of oil is in the air.
We drift off to childhood
where we spent our gelt
on baseball cards and matinees,
cream sodas and potato knishes.

No delis in our neighborhood,
only the wind howling over the crushed corn stalks.
Inside, we try to sweep the darkness out,
waiting for the Messiah to knock,
wanting to know if he can join the party.

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