Untitled
By Isabell Ku
Breathe in. Breathe out.
For a moment you can just be.
For a moment it's just you, the trees,
birdsong in your ears.
The soft path beneath you feet---
outstretched fingers combing the land.
All of this belongs to you
just as much as you belong to it.
There is life in this sanctuary,
and it's yours to get to know---
You see the way the branches reach out?
Little vibrant flower faces upturned
when you wander by.
Nature tamed by hands older than yours,
was and still is ripe for the picking.
This earth has been tilled and filled,
And the soil is crumbled up history.
If you look carefully, you might even see
the footsteps that came before you.
It is a slice of Michigan served on a plate,
Rich and easy for you to dig into.
Do you feel it between your fingers?
It lives and breathes and laughs---
It remembers the swamp and bubbling creek,
the floods and frozen winters.
Do you remember who you are?
Your mind can be silent here;
Surely, there's enough open space for
your thoughts to fit.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Isabell Ku (she/hers)
Major: English and French, double major (1st year)
How do you see art connected to nature?
Creatives and innovators have always turned to nature for inspiration, and I don’t think it’s any different today. Nature is, by all rights, an art of its own. There’s a beauty and complexity that is unspoken and unlabeled but can very much be felt. Art, whether it be visual or written, is a means to express what we as humans feel or see when we engage with nature.
What inspired you to create your piece?
I’ve always found some kind of peace in nature. Sitting among all the greenery, wind in my hair and sun on my face, I feel so alive and it sometimes feels like whatever is troubling my heart can be silent for a little while. Hence, I thought I would write my piece based on my own experience with nature, creating a narrative that will also allow other people to experience and engage with nature in a way they haven’t before.
How does engaging in your passion improve your wellbeing?
Writing for me is freeing. It’s a way to put words to things that normally cannot be described or expressed. It’s a medium that allows me to reflect and understand feelings that I may otherwise be unable to parse through and process.
