The March of Trees

We stand like high trees,
roots embracing the earth,
branches cradling the sky.
We nurture one another,
our trunks, the skin of the land,
our limbs, dyed with the henna of struggle.
And when we command the forest to march,
it will march,
toward tomorrow,
toward freedom.
Our steps crawl toward the horizon,
where a home and a dream await.
We become a forest,
welded together in our journey,
the individual bears the essence of the whole,
the whole alive within the individual.
We blend with nature, slowly dissolve, 
becoming nature itself.
Our pulse lies in our roots,
our branches, arms stretched in unity.
We are beyond a movement;
we are the epic of a people,
marching together to exist,
never hesitating
to bloom, to sprout anew.

Text by Rana Anani
 

This work was brought to life with the participation of the artist Yazan Abu Salameh.

Nabil Anani, The March of Trees, 2024. Leather, henna, dyes, inks, and other local materials on wood, 17.5 x 3.5 m.