all heartstrings come undone.
The old Neverleave though
nods and smiles,
guarding the Earth evermore.
I. IN THE BEGINNING
Neverleave.
In the beginning, dear sister
it was called the Neverleave tree.
Unrusted, unfallen.
It protected boys and cradled men;
the trunk, each branch, all leaves they sang
In the beginning
there was no mind or will,
elephants slowly brushed against the bark,
while out in the land, the devils
rode on shoulders of stone
but soon there would be no tusk left,
only wars against fantasy
Then came the cut, a single man, an axe so cold
so harsh and sharp a wound so dark,
a change of pace a change of mind,
each leaf now hesitating
to hang,
to cling,
to carry on to sing.
The human hand, it tore it down.
But I touched the skin of the elephant's body
as it placed me on its back and we walked away
and forgot about the forest, the trees, the leaves,
the storm,
the fires,
the darkness of the human hand,
their axes, and their growing hate.
We walked as rain fell
and the sun set like it always does.
Yet the leaves of the Neverleave never fell.
Even at the verge of autumn
and the edge of winter's fur
our dear tree still did not shed a branch nor tear.
Was it a rebel tree; a true lover's tree?
A house, a tusk, a neck like a tall brother?
Dusk brings solace to the terror of day.
II. IN BETWEEN
In this other life, I see things
I could never see.
We, who name ourselves
name others, name them
the standing ones
the ones who cannot, should not be
uprooted for their roots reach down
we, who name to understand
and alienate
But they, more connected than we’ll ever be
to the ground below and skies above
in their greatness
a shy sensitivity revealed by the tacit trembling
of the poplar
to let us know “I’m here”
if only we, in seeking connection were to
watch and listen
to the forest’s song.
Listen to the rustling sound,
Gentle, as someone shifting air,
or is it paper?
No, it is the sound of being trapped,
of someone with fine legs,
legs to bend and jump high
a little grasshopper caught in my bedroom lace
carpet hopper, poor thing
I catch him quick, hold him inside my hand
let him be free
how quickly lives can end
if no one is there to care
Ever since this gesture of mine, this in-between
time, I have collected tiny notes on grass
written with mushroom ink, so now I know
there is no life without the Neverleave tree, and
grasshopper poems dry quickly in the morning
sun
Lying amidst eagle fern,
wings spread—the plant’s and mine—,
great oeuvres are spun,
palaces and pyramids
a mere attempt
to be greater than nature, we have removed
ourselves
becoming blind to the world’s
most acclaimed architects
Queens of their own bodies,
illuminated by the morning sun
I see the fine embroidery
like crystals
droplets holding rainbows
beauty and order not to be feared
artistry is woven into the webs of life,
each weaver, the creator of their own
III. THE END
When will we learn to love?
When will we learn to see?
A few were born with hearts wide open,
the others,
they choose to love through pain.
To be in the woods most hours of the day
must have had an impact on you
You can see the fine embroidery like crystals
Who are you
And where
Or are you many after all
Can you now fly like a butterfly?
just watch a caterpillar move,
a pillar of lightheartedness,
caressing my tummy
navel of the world
rest on my navel.
make me go back, back into sleep
or re-enter the universe and become a butterfly
Or a fleeting star?
a one-hit wonder
this life, my life
possibly an ephemerid?
and you, the other one
the almost trapped one
a pillar in our life’s story
Where are you
my beloved children
I gave birth to
I am dying of neglect
Where are you?
Children of the forest
Remember me, this tree:
It carries your name in stenciled air and mud.
And when dawn shall come
My carved up trunk will be our witness.
About us
The Neverleave tree was written in collaboration by three voices through passing lines back and forth. It was written during and after the death of a loved person. It is part of the art exhibitions Hand/Hand/Haus, which takes place from October 30th till Novermber 6th, 2025, in Essen, Germany, in the arts space Crossing.Kunstraum, Lerchenstrasse 40, 45134 Essen (opening times: 17:00-19:00), and WHEN LIFE HAPPENS, which takes place from Novermber 8th till November 11th, 2025, in Oxford, UK, in the Dolphin Gallery, St John's College, OX1 3JP Oxford (opening times: 11:00-18:00). Documentation of the project will be made available later in 2025 on the website: https://claudiasacherart.com/
The three voices
Viviane Straub is the daughter of a visual artist and since 2024 also the mother of her own daughter. Having studied Human Ecology, she is interested in finding alternatives to dominant narratives on how we live with the human and more-than-human world and is currently living and working on Gotland; an island in the Baltic Sea. She is a polyglot and plays the clarinet. To make sense of both her internal and external worlds, she writes poetry and short texts; handwritten and without the use of AI.
Vincent Straub, born in America in 1997, grew up between Germany and England. He studied social sciences, computer-science, and design, and is currently pursuing a PhD in population health at the University of Oxford. In addition to his academic work, his wider practice includes poetry, short prose, conceptual art, and video art. Through his research and creative work, he advocates for healthier, more nurturing embodiments of masculinities. His works have been exhibited by Tate Collective in London and Blikopeners in Amsterdam, among others. His practice has been supported by a Culture Fund Award from St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford.
Claudia Sacher is a visual artist working in the medium of drawing, installation and performance. Born in 1966 in Oberhausen (Germany), she gained a diploma in Graphic Design at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen. Her graduation „Das geschnittene Katerbein“ (The Splinted Tomcat’s Leg) was one of the first artistic works at the Zollverein colliery, Zeche Zollverein in Essen/ Germany.
From 1992–1994, she studied New Performing Arts and Intermedia Design Iowa City, Iowa, USA. She later returned to Essen (Germany) and joined Kunsthaus Essen, a forum for contemporary art, for two years. This was followed by a solo exhibition in Städtische Galerie Museum Folkwang and numerous group exhibitions in Germany. In 2003, Sacher moved to the North East of England where she has exhibited regularly ever since. In the last few years she has been part of the interdisciplinary artist group ‘Stairwall’ with Jeremy Bradfield led by Esther Huss.
Claudia’s recent more extensive project was Nastya: Indescribably Blows the Sorrow of the River, a concert-performance with the Ukrainian singer Yuliia Sovershenna in Essen/Germany, 2024. Beside her own work she is experienced and passionate in working with people of all abilities and ages who live with mental health or physical issues. She also enjoys working with people who live with dementia.