How can I grieve?

The pain I feel for my people, the Palestinians

With every step, every thought, every breath

I carry grief.

yet, my guilt is greater.

the dead are gone, the living are hungry

I should not grieve.

yet, my voice shakes with every word.

I have been asked, “are you okay?”

No. No I am not, nor can I be. Palestinian parents searching for their children under rubble, children crying for their murdered parents, children who never got to live. I am watching the genocide of my people, while my neighbors cheer it on. We are armed with the truth of our being, and for that we are targeted, hunted, and killed.

How can I grieve? I don’t deserve to.

yet, grief is all I have.