Bat Mitzvah Dreams

by Rachel Prizant Kotok

At the synagogue,
the patriarchy
unraveled. Feisty
women with canes and
walkers clamored to
have a Bat Mitzvah.
When the Rabbi said no,
the elders raised hell:
Solidarity!
Ziskayt, it’s our time.
We’re going to learn.

The Rebbetzin, his wife,
fierce as a moving
train, gathered women.
A year of tracing
shapes of letters, one
by one—aleph, bet,
gimel—laboring
through the alphabet.
Hebrew prayers, ancient
poems, melodies.

Upon arrival,
a dozen women
sat with dignity.
They wore white dresses,
held roses, one tall
in her wheelchair, and
chanted the prayers with
tremulous voices,
a bit of Yiddish
sibilance, hint of
guttural soundscapes
from the Old Country.

Babka, rugelach,
smiles, arms embracing,
deep love: fruition.

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Rachel Prizant Kotok (she/her) is the author of Morpho Didius, a collection of palindromic poetry (Armature Publishing, 2024). A finalist for the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Award for Poetry, she was a finalist for Southwest Review’s Morton Marr Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in Wend Poetry, Hey I'm Alive Magazine, and elsewhere.