ALL THE LIVES OF MY LIFE

Starting from gefilte fish-shaped* Stepney

where I was born,

Joe Zweben a lobbos*

of Whitechapel the son

meshuggah*

but no momzer*.

Eastward from Gardiner’s Corner

along the Commercial Road,

beyond the realms of

Shadwell Park

and the pedestrian tunnel beneath.

Throughout the length of Cable Street

where they failed to pass.

Beneath the overhanging leaves

of Itchy Park

with sticky caterpillar-shaped seed-pods

clinging to my woollen pullover.

So many lives.

So many lives.

What pictures do I see

with memory’s defective single eye?

*glossary of Yiddish terms: gefilte fish = fish cakes,

lobbos = rascal; meshuggah = crazy; momzer = bastard