from Iran to my aunt’s house

.

they left their money
everything they ever owned
south carolina

allowed to leave Iran
this was the only way
he was a doctor

beautiful couple
he died from a heart attack
didn’t understand

he wasn’t heavy
the doctor was very young
at my synagogue

many years later
she offered to drive me back
greenville to charleston

three hours each way
but first we went to her house
guess who’s house it was

it was my aunt’s house
she bought houses and fixed them
it was beautiful

when i was little
until the year before this
my father would laugh

you should be careful
how you look at anything
because it would break

having old white stove
probably like the waltons
the last century

i had no idea
we were going to my aunt’s home
moved to virginia

it wasn’t like
my aunt couldn’t afford new things
daddy would buy them

two of his sisters
he took care of everyone
they lost their husband’s

before i was born
both of her sons are doctors
stock my father bought

my second aunt
who doesn’t believe in progress
they’re set in their ways

one hundred eighty miles
inviting her to stay
she had to go home

.

one crab keeps kosher

in six inches of water,i was thinking about all of the people who had been attacked by sharks over spring break,in florida and all of a sudden something grabbed my foot and pulled me.

hysterical i jumped out and asked the fisherman if they were fishing for sharks and they said yes. my foot was bleeding and a very sweet teenager said a crab had grabbed my foot.that was the last time i was going to get in water that deep.eleven days later,i was in water only above my feet, when all of a sudden ,i couldn’t move and just stood there like an idiot pointing at a real shark,i hoped was a dolphin, but it wasn’t….

finally i could move and seven crazy paople came toward me  and the shark,and took pictures of him.he was in very shallow water and swimming in circles eating the bait fish.this woman , from georgia,got out of  her chair and had seen me pointing and asked how i saw him.i said because i was looking.then the people who took his picture tried to tell me how big he was and i said i know he was 15 feet away from me, but i really didn’t know :apparently he was six feet long.i never saw his face.so much for two inches of water.then there was a giant crab,possibly 12 inches around, who wasn’t even in the ocean, but getting a tan.he lifted his back,if the surf came close to him.

the wind was blowing 16 mph and i was thinking, this is ridiculous i feel like uncle fester and 2 seconds later, this man came toward me and said look it’s uncle fester to his friend.”what did you say ,i was just thinking that exact same thing”.