Tribe

 I forwarded a story to Jewish friends.

It isn’t entirely unique:

Felix Zanderman died this year.

He was a holocaust survivor.

Why didn’t I share this story with others?

Why not include friends of fifty years?

I have no religion 

But I do have a tribe.

Italians have tribes; Libyans,

American Indians, Afghanis, likewise.

Membership doesn’t make you special,

It means “you’re one of us”.

We Jews have a badge

That allows us to refer to the Holocaust

As though we have scars 

That confirm our ties to the horror.

Since 1948, along with most tribes, 

We have a point of reference, a “home land”.

Not unlike the Irish, there is a learned response. 

An unspoken pledge.

This connection ends with me.

My sons, barring an anti-Semitic  plague,

Will not be tribal.

Hurray for them?