Between the slumbering earth
And an awakened
Bright sky,
Humming
Mountains and silent valleys
Lit up by the
Glowing stars
Spread out in the sky,
The wandering
Aboriginal poet,
A distant
Descendant of
Bennelong/Colebee
Fresh from the University,
Roams the valleys
Of a land called
Terra Nullius
By the invaders
Circa 1770-88,
The bilingual poet
Who hated his origins
But later realized his folly,
Tries to capture
In his sad songs
What he hears
From the wandering spirits
That once spoke to his simple
Ancestors
Rooted to forest, land and sea,
The intimate voices,
Visions,
Sharing attitudes,
Now lost forever,
After the arrival of
The alien
First Fleet
And with it:
The Convict,
Conflict
And disease.
The poet tries to reclaim
A troubled legacy,
And with efforts,
Catches the old songs
Of the sky, the land and the sea;
The vibrant songs that speak and
Heard with sympathy
By immigrants and others,
Since they, the songs, that
Document---
Their own marginalized histories.
