There is no one to teach me the songs that bring the Moon Bird, the fish or any other thing that makes me what I am.
No old women to mend my spirit by preaching my culture to me—
No old man with the knowledge to paint my being.
The spectre of the past is what dwells within—
I search my memory of early days to try to make my presence real, significant, whole.
I use my childhood memories of places, people and words to re-create my identity.
Uncle Leedham, a fine black man is my fondest memory—
He could sing, he could dance and play the mouth organ or gum leaf.
His broad shoulders carried me and, as I remember, I found it a great pleasure.
I owe him and his contemporaries a debt—and I’ll pay—
But there is no one to teach me the songs that bring the Moon Bird, the fish or any other thing that makes me what I am.
Like dust blown across the plain are the people of the Moon Bird—
Whitey said, ‘You’ll be better over there, you will grow again!’
Oh, how wrong he was—why the graves of children run four deep—all victims of a foreign disease.
They had no resistance to the legacy of the white invasion—or so they must have thought
I am their legacy and I’ll not disgrace them,
But there is no one to teach me the songs that bring the Moon Bird, the fish or any other thing that makes me what I am.
Inside, a warrior of ages rises up—my soul he possesses, his righteous indignation is the cup from which I drink—
I do not want blood—just opportunity—to be.
But even with him within there is no one to teach me the songs that bring the Moon Bird, the fish or any other thing that makes me what I am.
Though wretched the invaders were—for me they created a greater wretchedness for they, at least, spoke their language, understood their role, yet it was nothing to be sought.
My great-grandparents knew their culture and it could not be taken from them,
Through the minutes since their life it was taken from me—though my warrior within says differently—
Even yet there is no one to teach me the songs that bring the Moon Bird, the fish or any other thing that makes me what I am.
