AlAnoud Writes

I am the olive tree.. ancient, awake,

A story no storm has managed to break.

Before there were borders, before there was name,

I stood in the silence, unshaken, the same.

My roots run deep where the old voices sleep,

Through centuries buried, through secrets I keep.

They twist through the earth, through memory and stone,

They whisper: you’ve always been here, you’ve always been home.

It takes a lot. Yes, a lot, a lot

To move what time itself forgot.

The winds may rage, the skies may scream,

But I am older than the storm’s own dream.

They push, they pull, they test, they try,

They darken the earth, they trouble the sky

But I do not shatter, I do not bend,

I am not a moment that comes to an end.

Pressure has knocked like a thief at my door,

Fear has circled, demanding more

“Will you fall? Will you fade? Will you loosen your claim?”

But I answered in silence: I remain the same.

For I am not weak, I am not unsure,

I am the constant, steady, secure.

I sway with the wind, but I do not depart,

For the land beats within me, a permanent heart.

I stand tall; not loud, but clear,

Rooted in truth that outlives fear.

I stand here; not lost, not thrown,

Every grain of this soil knows my tone.

This land is not something I borrow or see

This land breathes within me, as I breathe it. I am it, it’s me.

I am the land, the air, the sky,

The echo that does not pass or die.

White and maroon flow quiet and true,

 A الأدعم لوني— my soul’s own hue.

Not worn as color, not draped as pride,

But lived in my roots, where my truths reside.

A rhythm that pulses, a flame that won’t flee,

A banner that rises from deep within me.

Generations speak through the lines of my frame,

Each leaf holds a story, each branch holds a name.

I carry their voices, their strength, their decree

They are not behind me… they are within me.

So let the world tremble, let doubt take its stand,

Let questions fall heavy like dust on the land

I will not wander, I will not stray,

For here I was rooted, and here I will stay.

I do not break.

I do not sway.

I do not leave.

I stay.

I am.