whitefella looks at me.
whitefella can’t say what you can say
he says.
whitefella.
you can talk about
blackfella ways
he says to me.
token piece, ‘blackfella’.
whitefella
with an ochre heart.
more blackfella in him
than in me.
but whitefella don’t know.
‘blackfella’
with whitefella wrapping.
‘blackfella’ can choose
to Remember.
to Forget.
‘blackfella’ don’t have to
give alms to ancestors.
choose.
choose is whitefella language.
my native tongue
‘blackfella’.
my native tongue
can’t taste
blood spilled.
my gums aren’t
a burial ground.
bones rotting
and rising.
washed in moonlight I
don’t wear my history.
my narrative isn’t rooted
in rich soil. dark
and resilient.
‘blackfella’ walks
whitefella way.
commanding.
without a shadow
demanding.
Cover art: Little Bush Fire © Shirley Frazer (Ngaanyatjarra / Warburton), photo by Hella Ibrahim. All rights reserved.
About the author
Jes’Se Rushby is a Wiradjuri woman from central-west NSW. She studies Law and people and pretends to know what she’s doing. You can follow her on Instagram at @jesrushby.