This piece was commissioned as part of the In Our Own Words series, which seeks to share the voices and experiences of marginalized individuals. You can find all of the pieces in this series here.

Don’t worry, you will survive.

Wait a few more days,

Walk a few more miles,

Endure a few more bombs,

                                        snipers,

                                                       infections,

                                                                     amputations,

                                                                                   nights in a tent,

                                                                                                  storms,

                                                                                                                injuries,

                                                                                                                          indignities—

You will survive, if only you can wait

Until we’ve settled the controversy

Until we’ve talked it through

Until we’re comfortable with ourselves, in our SUVs and beach houses,

With what we’ve done and what we still mean to do.

If only you agree to hush, to wait, to die—

We’ll say out loud how much we care (someday)

We’ll take in your orphans (don’t worry, we’ll keep the hardest truths from them)

“I’m proud of my heritage,” their children’s children will say (without having to grow up there, among the violence—don’t worry!)

We’ll listen to their stories, someday, and center them, and care.

Please, don’t worry. In some small way,

You will survive.

J.’s grandfather was taken prisoner during the Nakba in 1948. Then twenty years old, he escaped on foot and walked until he reached Lebanon, where he rebuilt a life for himself, eventually emigrating to the United States. J. was raised Mormon and is a longtime reader of and first-time contributor to Exponent II.