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Arsenic Flower
Not yet published
Expected 23 Jun 26A breathtaking debut poetry collection from black&write! fellowship winner Dakota Feirer.
'Where wisdom made me there's a ceremony ground
piling with dead leaves. So much, I lit a cultural fire by my porch
so my feet wouldn't bleed. If this colony is a house
its doorstep is where I sleep.'
Igniting his love for people and Country in a potent poetry collection that acts as both spear and shield, Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr man Dakota Feirer explores the legacy of generational trauma and cultural wisdom of First Nations people. With dazzling imagery and rhythms inspired by lo-fi hip-hop, these poems confront the violence of colonialism that echoes still in the complexities of blak masculinity. Drawing on cultural memories sprung from stolen Country, bloodstained soil, broken promises and poisoned waterholes, Feirer's words roar and whisper as he gives voice to silenced histories.
Arsenic Flower is a stunning mosaic of intimate poetry that honours the past and carves tools for the future. These words are spears pointing toward truth and shattering the myth that we are all equal on stolen land.
'Where wisdom made me there's a ceremony ground
piling with dead leaves. So much, I lit a cultural fire by my porch
so my feet wouldn't bleed. If this colony is a house
its doorstep is where I sleep.'
Igniting his love for people and Country in a potent poetry collection that acts as both spear and shield, Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr man Dakota Feirer explores the legacy of generational trauma and cultural wisdom of First Nations people. With dazzling imagery and rhythms inspired by lo-fi hip-hop, these poems confront the violence of colonialism that echoes still in the complexities of blak masculinity. Drawing on cultural memories sprung from stolen Country, bloodstained soil, broken promises and poisoned waterholes, Feirer's words roar and whisper as he gives voice to silenced histories.
Arsenic Flower is a stunning mosaic of intimate poetry that honours the past and carves tools for the future. These words are spears pointing toward truth and shattering the myth that we are all equal on stolen land.
- GenresPoetry
160 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 23, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 17, 2025
Not my usual style of poetry but there were some great poems in here!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Deadlier things than an invisible spear:
Singing the National Anthem
Spithoods
The Australian Flag
Reconciliation Cupcakes
Fracking
"Therapy is for pussies"
Australia Day
Flour laced with arsenic
Deadlier things than an invisible spear:
Singing songlines
The sons of tortured mothers
The Aboriginal Flag
The black bastard crew that won't lower their voice junga-ngarraanga
Men who stand in the rain
Yabun
An arsenic flower
This collection was captivating, and tactfully balanced grave and humorous narrative voices. The consistent references to the Colonial Frontier Massacres that are interwoven throughout the collection were particularly impactful. The motif of the arensic flower makes reference to the murders of Aboriginal people by way of arsenic-laced flour. The motif also pays wider tribute to all Indigenous lives lost during the Australian Frontier wars, and to the active resistance by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that followed.
Always was, always will be.
Singing the National Anthem
Spithoods
The Australian Flag
Reconciliation Cupcakes
Fracking
"Therapy is for pussies"
Australia Day
Flour laced with arsenic
Deadlier things than an invisible spear:
Singing songlines
The sons of tortured mothers
The Aboriginal Flag
The black bastard crew that won't lower their voice junga-ngarraanga
Men who stand in the rain
Yabun
An arsenic flower
This collection was captivating, and tactfully balanced grave and humorous narrative voices. The consistent references to the Colonial Frontier Massacres that are interwoven throughout the collection were particularly impactful. The motif of the arensic flower makes reference to the murders of Aboriginal people by way of arsenic-laced flour. The motif also pays wider tribute to all Indigenous lives lost during the Australian Frontier wars, and to the active resistance by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that followed.
Always was, always will be.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews