it's the same damn air.

some days ago, i met someone from israel.

i asked him where he's from and he said new york, i could hear an accent so i asked where are you from originally?

as soon as the words left my mouth i realised that he might be reluctant to give me his answer.

he said he was from israel, looking away from me, with a quiet & shallow voice.

i felt his pain & his fear.

i should have hugged him, i regret that i didn't.

so much weight came with the simply telling me what part of the world he was from.

i asked if his family were safe, & the conversation moved on.

borders, labels, identity.

defining & dividing.

fighting & resisting.

it's really, so fucking stupid.

all i saw in that moment, was a human hurting, through no fault of his own.

all i see, everywhere i go, including myself, are humans hurting;

afraid to love

afraid to be honest

afraid to connect.

perhaps thats where we should start,

by liberating ourselves first

then the air we breath is the same.