Call a spade a spade
a heart a heart
a diamond a diamond
a club a club
call it invasion not settlement
call it genocide not colonisation
call it theft not establishment
don’t call January 26 Australia Day
don’t shy away from telling the truth
don’t say ‘no worries’ say ‘I worry’
for the future of our country, our environment
if we fail to listen and to act
don’t say ‘we’re full’
say ‘we’re open’
call yourself an ally
call yourself a mate
*
Women are still not being heard
for Ms Dhu
women are still not being heard
our bodies ignored
crimes against us approved
sister spoke up
it took her life
in custody, without custodianship
children taken, and land
weeping and lonely
no more women unheard behind the wall
no more women dead over unpaid fines
no more women dead by men
it must end
These poems are extracted from Throat by Ellen van Neerven, published by UQP, RRP $24.99.
