Christmas eve can be a great night to meet a Jew

yet as I looked over a sea of Jews under 5’2

although I was not Moses, nor it Passover,

i parted.

rather than wander through the dry desert,

i headed to miami’s premeire strip club with tens — E11even

and it was only in the depths of this hopeless place

among the smoke, strippers, and mirrors,

i found a strapping fellow throwing singles,

and soon after,

we weren’t.

i’m Jewish from New York.

my next boyfriend, Kurdish from Iraq.

happy birthday, Jesus.

i can’t speak for the strippers

yet, as Christmas Morning dawned

i awoke to a present that we never wrapped

because apparently presents are enjoyed better this way

my boyfriend’s family fled Iraq

after the fallout of 9/11

and sought refugee in the US

not a lot of people have Jesus, strippers,

and Dick Cheney.

to thank for their love story

(usually its two out of the three)

but that’s just what makes us special.

almost out of an Elizabethan tragedy,

we’re like Romeo & Jew

for you, he promised,

i’d show up to the airport with a turban and a backpack

if that were the only way to see you

for I simply had him at Shalom

once, maybe more than, he said to me

he couldn’t believe he came all this way

to the US

to be bossed around by a Jew

oh baby, you’re living the American Dream