47 / 168
47
Brothers
Claudia
Schonfeldt
Take my hand brother and I will keep you safe
from all the white ghosts’ strange ways,
I’ll show you the trees, the bush and the seas
and where the old kangaroos graze.
Take my hand brother, we could go far and wide
to the place where the kookaburras nest,
We will fly through the sky, touching so high
and moving from east and west.
Take my hand brother down to the river
where the scaly fish are free,
Where the Golden Wattles sway and bees buzz
all day, by the Bunya Bunya tree.
Take my hand brother as we dance with the
spirits before the silver moon comes out,
We will swim with the currents and the animals
of the sea until the next dry drought.
But when the time finally comes when you sail
to the land of strangers and the unknown,
Remember me brother, remember your people
and place where you have grown.
Remember the kangaroos, the kookaburra nests
and the Bunya Bunya trees,
The rivers, the scaly fish and the silver bright
moon it was a time when you were free.
‘
8