On the eve of the death of the land
I said to those who came before me
Long, so long ago had grown here
Laid in waiting, then laid in passing
Said I to them “So glad I knew you
Glad to have these stories of you
Sad to now say goodbye to you
When now from this land you leave us
This land is dying, now you’ve left here
Waiting out eternal glory
You have gone thus, and now, I must
For I was but your Indian orphan
Parents gone, ancestors quiet
Devils pouncing on footpaths chasing
Goodbye to all you old ghosts and Gigus
Leaning into paths out to the gathering
Lighting old fires in long gone fire pits
I’m so glad to say I knew you
I knew the day would come when mother
Dressed in braids and going eastward
Leaving land and life she lived here
Would take the whole lot of you with her
Her going meant it all went with her
Now just three sisters left to remember
And a brother, the oldest, our brother.
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