I want to become a Tree
that embraces animals who climb inside
I want to produce from my prolonged trauma
a seed
that will grow something different
I do not know where I can be planted
I forgot that the land is arid
that trees are denied water
form weak roots, which produce weakened branches.
That fruit lies on the ground
spoiled
My hair has fallen beside it
We starve together
In time, we no longer treat
it as survival mode
My emotions are crumbling
The land is suffocating
Can you hear it ?
Breaths rose to ask
Could this land become an orchard?
Wrath, fear won’t feed the soil,
won’t let the roses grow,
won’t bring us humanity and love.
Tala Albanna
Tala Albanna was born and raised in Gaza. She is a law student, a writer, and an activist in the human rights and environmental fields. She has a strong passion to discover more about the world of animals and nature. She likes to read and she also embroiders (tatreez) in her free time as a way to bond with her ancestral home in Jaffa. She recently received a scholarship to study in the United States.
Donate to a fund for Tala and her family here: https://gofund.me/4f39b99e
Photo Credit: Tree in Gaza by Tala Albanna
