By Madeleine Stern
My Star of David necklace
Hidden away in a drawer
Little did I know it was so precious
A symbol to wear and not ignore
Middle school was not a safe place
Don’t talk about your religion too loudly
My Jewish identity I could not embrace
Of the few Jews, none spoke proudly
“What a fat, f***ing Jew
Ovens, smoke, burning, a lot of screaming
Ha, we aren’t scared of you”
Their jokes would never end it was seeming
Now in high school a lot has changed
I made new Jewish friends, although far away
Offensive comments are no longer exchanged
And I talk about BBYO at least once a day
I feel proud of my Judaism at last
More of the rituals have deep meaning
Shabbat dinners are a blast
As is swaying with my youth group’s Havdalah singing
So back to my Star of David necklace
The jewelry piece I most adore
I’m sorry I was unable to notice
All the beauty and specialness you had before
Madeleine Stern, 16, lives in Annapolis.
