"At least you will know"

I was asked by a Pashtana in Afghanistan why I still care
She said to me "You are so lucky to be living over there".

I said, "I don't feel very lucky living here in the USA
it's this country's bombs killing our people everday."

She replied to me, "You should thank god your family fled
had you stayed behind you might be among the dead."

"For you, Mariam Jaan, destiny has something more in store
It is as God willed that you ended up on a foreign shore."

She said to me "If you want, take up your pen and begin to write
let the world know how we Pashtuns are suffering day and night".

As I was writing my first poem, remembering her words I cried
"It might not seem much but at least you will know that you tried."