it’s time

by new poet Elly Belfort-Mattos¹

it’s time to rebel—
to renounce—
to denounce and dismantle
this settler-colonial state

time to break Country free
from those who enslave land—
back to those who belong
always was
always will be²

it’s time to remember
we’ve got to remember
the sins of the father
all the blood and tears
all the harm and pain
these should not be forgotten years³

time to repent—
to reflect and dispose of
our complicity
in the sins of the father

which for all of our lives
we’ve been making our own

time to offer our labour;
to undo and repair
however much possible
the damage done

it’s time to hope—
without expectation—
for forgiveness

time to stop preventing
First Nations
from exercising
that sovereignty
never ceded

it’s time to watch
and learn
how to curate Country—
as people have done here
for tens of thousands of years

and then
only then
will Country start healing—
and with luck
so will we
as to Country we’ll belong

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Scroll down for a Portuguese translation by the poet.

1. The title and refrain of this poem, “It’s time”, evokes the 1970s campaign of Gough Whitlam’s Australian Labor Party. Their (successful) election platform was change, and they were also the first Australian government to start giving land back to its rightful owners. Unfortunately their mandate was shortlived, when the Queen’s representative, the Governor General, took the totally unprecedented step (perhaps nudged by US influences) of ousting them from power.
   ↩︎
2. This is shorthand for “Always Was, Always Will Be, Aboriginal Land.” Sovereignty was never ceded. We live on stolen Country. ↩︎
3. The two italicised lines in this verse are from Midnight Oil’s “Forgotten Years” (1990). Another highly relevant song from the band is “Beds Are Burning” (1987), which centres First Nations land rights. ↩︎
4. https://portuguesclaro.blog/2022/05/27/posto-que-causa-ou-concessao/ ↩︎

é chegada a hora

escrito e traduzido por Elly Belfort-Mattos

é chegada a hora de se rebelar—¹
de renunciar—
de denunciar e desmantelar
este estado colonialista

hora de libertar Country
daqueles que escravizam a terra—
devolvê-la àqueles que a pertencem
sempre foi
sempre será²

é chegada a hora de lembrar
temos que lembrar
os pecados do pai
todo o sangue e lágrimas
todo o mal e dor
estes anos não serão esquecidos³

hora de se arrepender—
de refletir e nos livrar
de nossa cumplicidade
nos pecados do pai
que, por toda a nossa vida,
temos cometido

hora de oferecer nosso trabalho;
desfazer e reparar
tanto quanto possível
o dano causado

é hora de torcer —
sem expectativas —
pelo perdão

hora dos Povos Nativos
exercerem
aquela soberania
nunca rendida

é hora de observar
e aprender
como cuidar de Country —
como as pessoas têm feito aqui
por dezenas de milhares de anos

e então
só então
Country começará a se curar —
e com sorte
nós também
posto que⁴ a Country faremos parte