There are matzo balls
and potato kugel
and gefilte fish
which I am told
tastes like fish meatloaf
and four cups of wine
and horseradish too
and a hard-boiled egg
to evoke the cycle of life
but all of this feasting
is not why they recline at the table
like so many rituals,
the meaning must be woken up
with a question
and then your Jewish friend
will explain in a voice
that is both soft
and fiercely proud
that they lean back
on pillows
as a statement:
we are free.