A Bronze Prutah

Hold this coin in the palm of your hand
if you want to know who you are.
It’s a bronze prutah from the time of the Maccabees,
worth no more than a single piece of fruit.

Hold this coin and look over your shoulder
at a line of women stretching back into ancient Judea.
They are your sisters.

Follow them into the old marketplace
walk among the vendors
they know who you are
they've been waiting.

Take this coin and buy yourself
a sweet, ripe pomegranate.