Grade: 11

Bio: Ze Yu loves listening to analyses of pieces of literature. He also loves listening to music, particularly, classical music and he would occasionally compose pieces for piano and orchestra.

What is your main source of inspiration?

Spider Lilies have always been my favorite flower. The shape, color, and myths behind it are truly mind boggling to me. A YouTuber by the name of "ATs Magic Shop" (also known as "Spikes") composed a piano piece called "Lycoris Radiata", which is the binomial name for Red Spider Lily. The piece heavily inspired the format of this poem in which the speakers shifts their address from the White Spider Lily to the Red Spider Lily, as within the piece, there is a key change.

What motivated you to write this piece?

In all honesty, I would never have wrote this piece if my teacher had not made writing for the Literary Fair mandatory. However, I am thankful that she did that, as it allowed me to think of and create this work.

Do you write sporadically or regularly?

I write sporadically, as I'm more into reading literature than writing.

What artists and/or writers inspired or influenced your work?

There is not particularly an author that influenced me to write this work. However, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy inspired some parts of the work.

What was the most difficult part of your writing process for this work?

The most difficult part is definitely the grammatical structure of this work. Maintaining the rhyme schemes, punctuations, and ensuring that every line has 10 syllables was very daunting. However, in the end, it worked out beautifully.

What is your ideal writing environment?

The ideal environment would be in a library with the floors, walls, and ceilings made of redwood, with the desk being next to the window at nighttime.

How do you resonate with your piece? Why is it personal to you?

There have been many times in life in which I let my kindness get the better of me. There have been many people in the past who have taken me for granted. Assertiveness is a quality I am trying to learn, and this piece serves as a reference for me to stay cautious of my surroundings. Besides lessons, I personally consider this the "best" piece of literature I have written in all of my years in school (and probably the future). When I first completed this piece, I was utterly in shock of how well everything blended: be it the grammar, symbolism, and all of the likes. I doubt I will be able to write something I consider more well written than this piece, but only time will tell.

What message do you hope to convey to the reader through your piece?

Do not let facades deceive you. Think once for every step you take. Sometimes, the most beautiful things are the most dangerous.