What I Learned from My Niece

A poem by Lori Levy

When asked what her hobbies are,

my 22-year-old niece says one is food —

eating it, not cooking it. Good food,

which, for her, means anything from shawarma to

endive salad with fruit and cheese, gnocchi with

pink sauce, purple soup with kubeh and beets.

I love that a hobby can be as simple as

savoring — not riding a bike over rough terrain

or kayaking down a river, like others in my family.

No action required but

bringing a fork or spoon to your mouth.

Maybe my hobby is eggplant.

On this visit to Israel, I scan the menu

for anything with eggplant: pasta, sandwiches, salad.

My brother-in-law Hiski

fries eggplants for us because I crave sabich.

I fill pita with chopped salad, hard-boiled eggs,

tahini, amba, and my beloved eggplant,

almost closing my eyes in anticipation

of the first bite.

My niece, Ofri, says another hobby is

sitting on the beach.

I could claim that one, too.

Not sailing or surfing or scuba diving.

Just sitting on a beach chair,

still and silent as a rock,

as the sky turns red over the Mediterranean —

pita with eggplant in a picnic basket beside me.

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Lori Levy’s poems have appeared in numerous online and print literary journals and anthologies in the U.S, the U.K., and Israel. Two of her chapbooks were published in 2023. Levy lives with her husband in Los Angeles, but “home,” for her, has also been Vermont and Israel. Find her on Instagram as @lorilevypoems.

Image:

Eggplants and garlic by nilufar nattaq