what school never taught me
By Shona Hawkes
how long it takes to heal a barren riverbank
how to keep the faith that the water birds will return
how to train your eyes to see a flash of platypus
hoarding is a crime, not a conquest
a word for the longing of a floodplain when the waters no longer come
or for the memory of birds on pilgrimage to a forest grieving its trees
how to read the rips below a smooth surface
any word in the language this land speaks with its people
and what it takes to earn the right to learn it
the proper shape of the seasons
how to see terror in the silence
the land is a teacher you will never surpass
trust is a measure of time
accountability is a mathematics of action
empty words are a weapon
theft is a habit we learn from our parents
the most vicious untruths are told with brutal certainty
sorry can take whole lifetimes to say
and is only heard in the quiet of justice.