Crying With God

My sweet Marji, my daughter, my kin.
You bring me so much joy when you invite me in.
But your invitations stopped coming. Are you mad? Do you hate me?
Just let me explain,
My sweet Marji, my daughter, my kin.

It started on Day One, when I gave man the freedom of choice.
To love. To hate. To create. To destroy.
If I allow people to love, I also have to allow them to hate,
because freedom means no restraints.

My children have taken advantage of this freedom.
They chose to hate.
They chose to destroy.
Even though I disagree with their decisions, I cannot stop them.
I am helpless, restricted by the chains I put upon myself.
I push against these chains, but they do not budge.
I am left crying on the floors of heaven, unable to save my children,
Like my sweet Marji, my daughter, my kin.

So understand, sweet human, that I love you.
That I want to help you, but I can’t.
But let me comfort you. Let me be your father. Let me into your world.
So we can cry together.

Eva Suissa is the daughter of Journal Editor-in-Chief David Suissa and a student at Shalhevet High School. This poem was for a class project on the book “Persepolis.”