Marie: Glebe 1983
(for the “stolen generation”)
my mama was black
dadda a scotsman
in the home there was a flower
it woke us up
see here it is
and here’s one i’m saving for matron
(i loved you matron)
i’ll write a book for matron
she’s gone now
they say she died
sometimes
i think i will come back to her
she said “you’re in trouble, marie”
she said “have the baby”
(i was nineteen or twenty)
i know all about cocks
men can be cheeky
but the girls are worse
two backyard jobs
matron’s gone now
see her flower?
i’ve pressed it for her
i’m forty-two years old i am nothing
a woman not married in this society
is nothing
my dream is to get married
i said to matron
“i will have babies for you”
tomorrow
i’ll give up smoking
i must control the grog
but when my head’s upset i need a beer
the pub is good
nobody looks down on you there
i hope my joseph is happy
he chose his family
and thomas
where is thomas?
there have been too many men
i’ll go picking again
on the riverina
this is not my place
this is a dead end street this is a dead man’s house
but there is a lane
they call me
abo
schizo
words are very powerful
you must be careful how you use them
do the children still read?
the television
i got mine at the hock shop forty bucks
it freaks me out
sometimes
i see myself and matron and joseph and thomas
i learn a lot
it freaks me out
sometimes
this is not my place
my head hurts here
all that fucking going on
over my head
i’ve never hurt no-one
let them kill me it’s good
it doesn’t matter
i’ve never hurt no-one
but i’ve been hurt
do you know my dream?
this is my dream
i’ll have a coffee shop
and there will be little huts
and no-one will be turned away
we did that once
had pillows all over the house
i learned
dressmaking
and elocution
i’ll get up early and get a job
it’s good i reckon
tomorrow
will be good
after christmas
next year
i’ll leave this place
but it’s good
i reckon
see this flower?
i’m saving it for matron
and here is the one
that woke us in the home
my dadda was a scotsman
my mama was black
****
See also Remembering Neos
