I Am a Wildflower, in Need: Poetry and Fine Art
by Erin Stinson
Take What You Need, by Erin Stinson, watercolor and ink on paper, 2025
I AM A WILD FLOWER, IN NEED
I apologized to the sun as she rose this morning / embarrassed to need her warmth / after having asked if she could spare a ray just yesterday / not having sufficiently earned it / it is apparently irrelevant that she shines on us all.
I apologized to the clouds, too, as they gathered overhead / desperate for a drop or three to drink / after an unsuccessful attempt to quell my own thirst / the proof of such attempts laid bare / with a detailed plan to try again tomorrow.
I felt the earth and its marvelous mycorrhizal network / weave through the roots I attempted to contract / certain Iād be named weak and altogether selfish / if I stretched out amid the offering / or confessed the communal longing.
I apologized to the meadow I found myself in / convinced I ought to find a way / to circumvent the system and thrive on my own / certain I would only be called good or strong or brave / alone, in a scattered Eden.
I apologized to the blue-eyed grass growing beside me / exhausted in the wish of being well enough / self-sufficient and able to be the one to only give / I finally collapsed in the grace of her invitation: take what you need.
A NOTE ON THE ARTWORK
I have long loved the wildflower called the paintbrush. The bracts look like they have been dipped in an array of red, pink, orange, yellow, or white paint. Last summer, I learned that this stunning plant is hemiparasitic, requiring a host plant to supply the nutrients it needs to thrive and survive. The wildflowers included in this artwork are those I observed growing together.
ERIN STINSON
Erin Stinson is a multi-disciplinary artist, living in the Foothills of Western Canada. Through visual artwork, song, and the written word, her artistic practice is driven by curiosity and a fascination with the bounty of metaphors found in the natural world. She seeks to pay sacred attention to the beauty and story unfolding around her.
https://www.instagram.com/studiostinson/
https://substack.com/@erinstinson