Since when did they ever value this land 

cos if they did they would have paid the price

they would have done what was right 

instead there has been theft after 

theft after theft 

murder and rape

incarceration and desecration 

selling off what they could never own 

selling off our only home 

 

Giving it away to the first white man that put his hand up

and its okay cos we are Black and Indigenous 

it’s okay to quarter and divide our mother up

this is Country

not Auschwitz 

the Thames or Rome 

this aint the valley of the kings 

or Paris or any catacomb 

this aint Times Square 

just a place to bear the colony’s bastard children 

the ones imprisoned and sent here more than 200 years ago

 

We never did anything wrong

so now I gotta write for my own sanity 

process this inhumane shit so it don’t get the best of me 

reject these colonial tools and weaponry 

I cant keep crying for my Country 

can’t keep applying band-aids to gaping holes of missing rock 

and reminisce about what was in front of me 

and lament at what they forgot 

 

Little people be watching me 

who the fuck holds them down 

while I’m feeling sorry 

who the fuck is gonna show them their country 

who’s gonna tell them their stories 

of how our ancestors survived 

of how matriarchs ensured we thrived 

and put the creations memories in all little babies minds 

eyes and hearts 

where do we even begin to start 

picking up those pieces 

 

how do we win any battle 

against this bloodthirsty creature?

 

Lorna Munro

Lorna Munro, or ‘Yilinhi’, is a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman, multidisciplinary artist and regular radio and podcast host at Sydney’s ‘Radio Skid Row’. Lorna continues to work tirelessly mastering many art forms, raising funds, supporting and advocating for her Redfern/Waterloo community and her people on the local, national and international stage. She is a 2019 recipient of the Wheeler Centre’s Next Chapter writers’ scheme.

More by Lorna Munro ›

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