"Becoming Bubbe" by Mala Hoffman

Mala Hoffman is a freelance writer and educator who lives in Gardiner, NY. Her work has appeared in the Village Voice, Chronogram, Awosting Alchemy, Literary Gazette, and edna, among others. Her poetry collections include Half Moon Over Midnight and A Year of Wednesdays.

 

Tonight
in a picture
teleported
onto my phone,
you grimace,
half-sulking,
and generations peel away.
To be a bubbe
is to acknowledge
and honor the past
while staring at the future
within cherubic faces.
It is an awesome role
to have,
for what is to be shared
and what discarded?
What is to be remembered
and what is a false impression?
I wrestle with this as
I gaze upon my father
in a baby's face.

 

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(published June 2, 2017)

 

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