I am a member of Homo sapiens, one of the four surviving species of great ape. I grimace, stuff food into my mouth, defecate, sleep, form attachments, cry, fight, play. I was thrust into a set of circumstances at birth, and at some point not too far away I’ll die and be disposed of.

Here I sit, surrounded by queenly luxurious trappings, jewels and fabric, with my wreath upon my head, all conceived and made by members of my species. This huge, screeching, dying, living, swarm of Home sapiens that we are has crusted the world with our effluent. We inhabit the cracks like an infestation, exchanging symbols, words, things, pictures, clawing past each other for light and air.

I am one of the lucky ones, I find myself in a comfortable cage which I adorn with precious things. I have everything I could ever want.

I just can’t understand why on earth my heart is broken.

-Deborah Poynton