WE WEAR THE MASQUE Marc ( ChaiMo haLevi ) Landas ( with apologies to Paul Laurence Dunbar )
Like Irene in Nella Larsen ’ s Passing I wear a white masque even though I am of mixed races I can pass even though I wish I had skin the rich café au lait color of my Grandpa Harry zt ” l In various social situations I force myself back into the proverbial closet painfully donning a straight-acting masque even though I am unabashedly gay Unless I disclose I seamlessly go through life with a thin veiled masque covering my gender fluid visage As a Jew I could likewise join the masquerade of identities I could submit to fear and hate To antisemitism and anti-Zionism But I choose not to I proudly unmasque these aspects of who I am declaiming NEVER AGAIN Moving across the stages of subway platforms and city streets of hospital corridors and lively classrooms crowded cafes and various shops I endure the onslaught of nasty looks and abhorrent comments Eyes that pierce deep in my soul sending a barrage of bullets Words that carve up my heart tearing it into bloody shreds Designed to murder my pride and shame my heritage To make me the scapegoat for the death of Jesus and the children of Gaza I will not don sackcloth and ashes After October 7 I mourn these innocents by Coming out like Esther haMalka
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