Be brave

Be brave
by Samar Najia 

Let us be brave-
Let us not heed the passiveness of onlookers
And hide in the shadows of their silence
But let us grow louder and bolder with the justice of our cause

Let us not join in the chants of hatred against an oppressed people
and forget the face of a orphaned child
let us grieve the sorrow of mothers who mourn their martyrs

Let us not paint the dead with colors of race 
so that we can turn our hearts away from the living in their hours of need
But let us grant them the same respect reserved for our kind

Let us not bury the truth of stolen homes 
And allow the anguish of one story hinder the power of one hundred others.
But let us walk in the footsteps of our grandparents and reclaim our   cherished homeland.

Let us not fear the flag flying from our windows even if it is in tatters
or don the habits of obfuscators who have us believe we are not their equals
The flag is our heritage and it is still flying

Let us not stylize our speeches with sanitized statements 
And peel the humanity off our words so that they offend no one
But let us sear the hope for our cause in every sentence

Let us beware of turning a page of history into a book of lies
If we allow history to turn to propaganda, then surely propaganda will become history
Let us verify and reverify until we know only one truth

Let us not seek too much solitude if it prolongs our sadness
But look to the shade of others for healing and hope
To be alone when there is so much abandon is heavy on the soul.

Let us not carry the rage of our oppressors or the vengeance of the oppressed before us 
Let us always seek peace even in the corridors of war
Even when all we have known is pain

Let us be brave 
Let us be brave

Copyright 2023 by Samar Najia

Samar Najia is a Palestinian American poet and writer residing in Virginia. Samar writes about the Palestinian Diaspora through her family’s lens and the hidden scars of  dispossession. In 2022, she completed a mixed poetry and prose memoir, about the repeated displacement of her family. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University and has worked in banking for over 20 years by day and advocates for Palestinians by night. Samar is married with two grown sons.