Amongst the flora, wild and tangled,
Immersed in its beauty,
Blinded by its beauty,
A growling voice calls my name,

Struggling, lunging to escape the reality,
Seiged by a wave,
Gasping for one final breath,
Suffocated in the darkness, 
Rising bubbles decide an awaiting fate,
The blackberry shrub implants its teeth into flesh,

Running away from a once homely land, 
A deluged path of red,
Grabbed by a hand, 
Infused with azalea,

Entrapped in a perspex plastic case,
My disgust disguised by posed taxidermy, 
Voices crowd around me,
The blackberry teeth still gnaw at my flesh,

How can one find their peace?
When another seeks a different conclusion,
As my body lay limp and suffocated on the forest floor, 
I finally possessed the end to my fight,

Observing the untouched land, 
Between the branches of the white gums,
A raspy whisper confirms the victim,
The teeth of the blackberry inflict.

Words inspired by Stella Yu’s ‘Floral Invasion’ exhibition. The two pieces I found specifically inspiring were the ‘Hogsweed and Early Nancy’ and ‘Ivy, Blackberry, Flampea and Early Nancy’. View the full collection and artist's statement here.

Hogsweed and Early Nancy (2022) by Stella Yu. POSCA markers and Fineliner photoshopped and printed on Rag Paper. Photo: Miriam Berkery

Ivy, Blackberry, Flamepea and Early Nancy (2022) by Stella Yu. POSCA markers and Fineliner photoshopped and printed on Rag Paper. Photo: Miriam Berkery.