Koora-Koora¹

Who am I?
I can’t feel the radiant warmth as abundant as the grains in the land,
All I feel is the shards bottled up inside me, masked by RAGE and anger.
Who am I?
I can’t see the layers of time build upon my home,
No gentle leaves drifting to rest or surfaces speckled with sparkling dew.
I can’t hear the chit chat in the Leafed Paperbarks and Tuart trees.
The silence is uncomfortable, only quick thumps can be heard from
My heart or maybe their trampling feet above... thump... thump... thump.
Our nematic lives receded the invading riders in elaborate clothes
Purity lost, justice forgotten. One by one... many by many,
Djoorlu²
But resulted in the imprisonments on Wadjemup³, a forbidden place, for spirits.
They seized my soul and mind; decapitated me quite literally.
I am a warrior.
Their sorrows and our forgiveness is restoring my soul. Closure.
I had died but now I am alive; within a place for everyone to interact and share.
My head can now rest with my Whadjuk⁴ people... sacred ochre ground; my home.
I was lost but now I am found, like the Shepherd and Lost sheep.
I am Yagan.

Noongar language references:

https://www.celebratewa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/the-story-of-yagan.pdf
https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/indigenous/display/61054-yagan
https://www.noongarculture.org.au/yagan
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography
https://www.bbc.com/news/10585852