Natural Desire

by Kelley Tai

What do you desire from the natural world?

This question sparked the Natural Desire theme. While reading through many plant submissions from previous issues, I thought to curate stories that conveyed passion, desire, and relationships between us and our surrounding world. As the theme evolved, so did the questions: What does it mean to tame something? What about our natural world are we unadulteratedly obsessed with—and how does it change us?

I only learned recently that humans can see the most shades of green than any other color in the visible spectrum. For millions of years, we’ve been shaped and reshaped by the environment around us. From coveting rare, virus-ridden flowers, to patenting monocultures that put environments and species at risk, we've now entered an unprecedented era where nature grows more distant every day through technology. So how should we reconcile our relationship with the environment? If technology has the power to mimic lush lands and blue waters, how do we bond if we can’t tell what is real or not—or worse, does it even matter?

In this issue, we journey through galaxies where love knows no bounds, nature that heals, wild hearts to be untamed, plants that lust. These stories and poems weave together our relationship with the land, the sea, and the skies, the stars, and asks us to dig deep in searching for a raw and deeper connection. I’m also excited to share that Issue 8.3 features the return of comics to the pages of Augur Magazine.

“Species loneliness,” according to Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, is “a deep, unnamed sadness stemming” from the loss of connection and relationship with the natural world. As you read this issue, I hope you find a connection to the pieces, and also, a reconnection for our planet.

Kelley Tai