twice as many stars as usual

hand in hand, free at last

Few feeble words on the state of the world. A meaningless seed to feed the endless hole.

---

poem

"Think of Others" by Mahmoud Darwish

As you prepare your breakfast, think of others
   (do not forget the pigeon’s food).
As you conduct your wars, think of others
   (do not forget those who seek peace).
As you pay your water bill, think of others
   (those who are nursed by clouds).
As you return home, to your home, think of others
   (do not forget the people of the camps).
As you sleep and count the stars, think of others
   (those who have nowhere to sleep).
As you liberate yourself in metaphor, think of others
   (those who have lost the right to speak).
As you think of others far away, think of yourself
   (say: If only I were a candle in the dark).

---

but tonight he is alive

I included the above poem by Palestinian journalist Mahmoud Darwish, which I have been reading and re-reading a lot this month.

Working as a journalist over the last month has been difficult for many reasons, but most of all, for me, due to the helplessness accompanying the influx of visual information. It is a terrifying time even for those farthest removed. It feels weighty to comment at all. The loss of human life is never justifiable.

Today my colleague verified footage of Gaza’s Public Library destroyed. Photos released by the Municipality of Gaza today show the remains of the library, which was in regular use by members of the community, including schoolchildren, before the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.

The municipal authorities accused Israel of deliberately destroying thousands of books and historical documents, and called for the intervention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to protect sites of cultural importance.

We could not independently verify what caused the library’s destruction, though we reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment, and though they responded, clarity has been ever elusive since the start of the conflict, making it feel all the more difficult to sift out the truth.

This week, I thought I’d share Publishers for Palestine’s campaign, Read Palestine Week — from November 29 to December 5, you can read free books by Palestinian authors and books about Palestine.

---

she is the soul of my soul

by Safiya Qamar

In Gaza, father said goodbye to his little daughter, Reem. As he cleaned her body, he took off her one remaining earring to keep with him forever, the other lost.

“I said, ‘Your earring, my dear! I want to take the earring. I want to take it, to keep it as a souvenir from you.’”

The father said, “She will stay with me. I will remember her through it. I wanted to remember her and keep her earring like a badge. She is gone.”

---

a candle in the dark

via Queering the Map

---

music that makes sense to me

“A Million Billion Stars” — Black Marble
Spotify | Apple Music

“Woods” — Black Marble
Spotify | Apple Music

“Wondrous Place” — Drug Store Romeos
Spotify | Apple Music

“Ease” — Whirr
Spotify | Apple Music

“Lovely Sewer” — Yves Tumor
Spotify | Apple Music

“Eighth Wonder of the World” — Cathedral Bells
Spotify | Apple Music

“I Miss You So” — MINOVA
YouTube (Studio Version) | Spotify | Apple Music

“Voyager” — Kevin Abstract
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

“Oral” — Bjork & ROSALÍA
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

Keep up with my playlist here, and don’t forget to save so it’s in your library — I update every week.

---