Being a Jew in America
Last month my friend asked me
To come to the pride parade with her
But I couldn't go because
They don't really like Jews
And when my people were asked to leave the march
With their rainbow Star of david flags
Because our need for inclusion and safety
Made others too angry
That could have been me
So I don't go online anymore
Because if I'm a Zionist
Then suddenly I'm the Devil
And I feel fine when innocent children
Are blown up by bombs
Of course I don't
But I won't get to open my mouth
So I close my laptop, afraid
Knowing the girl getting death threats
For having an Israeli flag
On her Facebook page
Could have been me
In America, Jews aren't considered
A minority anymore
We have too much "power"
But what about the swastika
Painted on the side of my friend's school?
Or the Jewish shop in Philadelphia
With a rock through the window?
Who could feel powerful
In a world like this?
So when you tell me that
If I'm "really" gay
The president shouldn't make me feel safe
And I should be protesting Robert's court
Maybe those aren't my biggest concerns
What happens to those protestors
When they all go home?
Do they think about the genocide of their people?
Or how their grandma's PTSD from those days
Still makes her weep at night?
Do they take their kippahs off in the airport?
And when they walk through Ferndale
Do they tuck their Jewish star necklaces
Under their shirts?
I read the news every morning
I hate the things that I see
I hate the things that I don't see
The Jewish woman,
On the way to the grocery store
Who was murdered
Which the news didn't report
Could have been my sister
She could have been my mom
Or my cousin
Or my aunt
Or my friend
She could have been me
America,
You are supposed to be
In the top five safest
Countries for Jews
And I know you are trying
But the blood of my people
Still trickles down your streets
Hatred for us
Still burns in so many
Of your patriots' hearts
America, is there any place
Where I do not have to be afraid?