June 2021
Bio Note: I am a retired teacher of English, French, and Spanish, and a published poet. I enjoy my time writing poetry, short fiction and Nonfiction. My poems have been published in the Journal of India Literature (Sahitya Akademi), Harbinger Asylum, and several anthologies. I appreciate this group not just for the poetry they write and share, but the warmth of their interactions with all members.
Give Me Oil In My Lamp
Grandmother took me to the old synagogue
Walking down the pot-holed sidewalks
Of a noisy Bombay street, close to her home,
Every square inch populated with humanity.
The oil lamp in the very old synagogue
hung high from the ceiling
For a few rupees we could keep the light burning.
She was afraid to climb the ladder
provided by the caretaker
In case she missed a step,
I was afraid for her too.
So he took the donation and lit the lamp.
I must cover my head with a handkerchief
she would pray to the prophet Elijah
for the oil never to run out,
The lamp must never die out.
Wanting to know in whose name he could make the receipt
(I did not have a Jewish name)
‘Change it for the receipt’, she said, matter of factly
‘Or the caretaker will get confused’.
So I went from being called Kavita to Elizabeth
For the sake of a two rupee receipt
I really did not want, or need.
Mother did want to name me Elizabeth, I recall.
“It’s ok. When you get home
You can go back to your real name
Or your father will be upset”, grandmother said calmly.
©2021 Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca
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