Youth Trip to Israel

We cram into one room, draping heads over bellies and hips, hands over legs and lips. Joey kisses and caresses Amy, Eric kiss-caresses me, Marcia kiss-caresses Craig, Craig kiss-caresses Joey, a carousel of hungry bodies galloping like horses, The Human League lyrics humming “Don’t You Want Me?” in my ears.

Jen Lang is a California transplant in Tel Aviv, whose prize-winning essays appear in various journals and whose memoir Places We Left Behind, will be published by Vine Leaves Press, 2023. Facebook @israelwritersstudio