To regular readers of this column, the timely, lighthearted and clever poems by Stanley Siegelman in Yiddish and English are by now well-known. As might be expected, he was unable to pass over Passover. So, here’s his latest:
Bay Dem Seyder Zingt Ayeder
A gliklekher ovnt Pesakh nakht
S’iz ven der seyder vert gemakht.
M’fayert es arum der velt
Avi s’iz heys, avi s’iz kelt.
Far “communists” a gute tsayt
Zey lign oyf der linker zayt!
(Far zey es hot a Yidish-tam,
Di mayse fun dem roytn yam.)
Un far shikurim epis fayn
Zey zaynen fray tsu trinken vayn!
Far kinder, likhtikayt in ponim,
Matones “via” afikomen!
Far Demokratn: Dom*! S’iz gut!
Zey denken fun Al Gore un blut!
Far oysgelasene: Oy! A glet
Zey trakhtn fun der Hes-a-bet!
(Far milkhike hobn zey nit kheyshek,
Zey hobn lib in gantsn fleyshik!)
Far Gibson (Mel) a “gutn yor”;
Zol nor er shlingn gal (Moror)!
Mit’n letstn “couplet,” mit fardrus
Mir denken fun dem Exodus!
*In Hebrew, “Dom” stands for “blood,” the first of the Ten Plagues.
At the Seder, Everyone Sings
Passover is the time for all
To have a festive (matzo) ball!
The Seder blooms around the globe
Unnerving the Judeophobe.
It gives to communists a treat
They love to leftward lean (and eat)!
They also like the history
The parting waves, the “red”-named sea.
To boozers, Seders are just fine
Because the Seder mandates wine.
To children, joyfulness comes swift
Each afikomen means a gift!
For Democrats, the plagues are core:
Reminding them of blood, called Gore.
For people sexually inclined,
The “Heys-a-bed” leaps first to mind.
(For them all, dairy food is waste
Carnivorous describes their taste.)
Mel Gibson, these directions follow:
Just chew some bitter herbs — and swallow!
Your “passion” strikes this chord in us
We’re struggling still with Exodus!
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