There was a town I so deeply loved

I dream of running its streets,
of memories of lost friends,
of a history written into my family’s lines,
of a land where my dreams took root.

There is a town I so deeply loved.
They called it Mal-Ba-Kal,
where my ancestors lay,
and where they shall rise.

There was a town I so deeply loved,
because my mother’s heart yearned for it,
and my father’s wish was to return.

There was a person I so deeply loved.
I see him in the rain,
in avocados and potatoes.
With him, I remember whispering
my silly stories.

There was a person I so deeply loved.
He holds me without a touch,
speaks to my soul,
and caresses my flesh.

There was a movie I so deeply loved.
I was a girl, and the hero was a boy.
That didn’t matter,
because we were both thirteen at the time.

I saw him have his first kiss on screen.
That did matter,
because mine was a decade after.

There was a movie I loved so much.
The hero, once a boy,
now a man I no longer recognize.

**

There was a school I so dearly loved.
Where girls were mean to each other,
yet adored the boys.

There was a school I so dearly loved.
Where I tasted falafel with watercress
for the first time,
where my period arrived,
and where my class teacher scolded me
as if I had wished to bleed.

There was a car I so dearly loved.
I regret not giving it a name.

There was a car I so dearly loved.
My father used to drive me home from church.

There was a car I so dearly loved.
My father stopped at a toy store,
a surprise in his hand.

There was a toy I so dearly loved—
the only gift I remember from my dad.

There was a toy I so dearly loved.
My brother broke its leg,
and said “sorry” with a face that meant:
Don’t brag about anything again.

There was a toy I so dearly loved.
I found my dog playing with it,
so it was no longer mine.

**

There was a dog I so dearly loved.
He barked at any shadow
that dared to approach me.

There was a dog I so dearly loved.
He was as white as snow—
or as I imagined snow would be.

There was a dog I so dearly loved.
We named him “Freedom,”
after the liberation of my parents’ town.
On the way to the freed land,
my mother gave Freedom away.

**

There was a town I so deeply loved…