Bird ‘n’ bee talk

I come from Bankstown—
Bediagal Country,¹
in the Eora Nation.

Aka, Sydney, Australia.

I come from 1974.

I come from my mother’s vagina
and a long tradition
of avoiding the facts.

I come from my father and mother.
From my grandparents four.
I come from France,
from Eire,
from Angleterre.

I come with my safety bag
full of gifts,
snacks,
aids.

I come to commune
‘fore we all
die of death.

I come from April
to the autumn
of my life.

Photo is of the author in 1974. With thanks to Paris Rosemont and WestWords for the prompt and workshop.

1. With thanks to Elly Belfort for questioning my Indigenous nomenclature. I found this map helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/sydney/comments/w6ktpl/aboriginal_place_names_around_gadi_sydney_city/#lightbox ↩︎