Trigger Warning
To the woman who came to the door asking that we take down our "End the Occupation/Free Palestine" sign because she found it triggering:
Warning: This poem might trigger you.
Because when I say “Free Palestine”
You hear “Kill the Jews”
Because when I say “Nakba”
You hear “Krystallnacht”
Because when I say “Stop the genocide”
You hear “Support Hamas”
Because my sympathy for Gazans makes you uncomfortable
Because you think being uncomfortable is the same as being in danger.
Warning: The keffiyeh that this poem is wrapped in might trigger you
Might make you uncomfortable
Because when the poem sees children in Gaza burning
You only see Jewish children burning
Because this keffiyeh asks you to be aware of others, to care about others.
Warning: This poem might trigger you
Because for you the conflict started October 7
Because you know your army is the most moral
Because you see genocide as self-defense
(And, besides, the only genocide ever was the genocide of your people) (my people!!)
and you’d rather not have your convictions challenged.
Because you planted a tree in Israel every Tu B'shvat
Because you didn't know the trees were planted to hide bulldozed Palestinian villages
Because you knew it was your land given to you by the British, the UN, and God
Even though it was never theirs to give.
This poem might trigger you
Because you want two million Gazans to disappear and killing them one by one
Is too slow --
And makes you Uncomfortable. Lil Blume, December 1, 2024.