A poem I wrote in July 2022 to acknowledge the amazing First Nations Culture we have in our country Australia and also the indigenous soul we have deep within ourselves if we dare to listen deeply. For a wonderful experience of deep listening see Dadirri film by Miriam Rose https://www.miriamrosefoundation.org.au/dadirri/
NAIDOC Parade
Politician on the toilet, in a great rush
The Audience is waiting for his speech they have all hushed
“Excuse me sir, its time to go on”
“Just a minute” he replies he been pushing hard for so long
Its no good he thinks this bugger is stuck
I’m bloody constipated now I’m in the muck
And right then and there that Poli lost his job
He chose to listen to his body rather than being a snob
He stayed on the toilet rubbing his tummy with care
I am sorry he said, letting go of his flare
He sobbed and cried and part of him died
As the poo came running out like the outgoing tide
He emptied himself into the long drop that day
And all he had ever known changed shape and gave way
Feeling the churning and yearning of his insides
An idea sprouts which he decides to ride
To turn all this shit into soil to plant
He begins an idea to apply for a grant
He’ll collect the Sunny Coasts Sewages waste
and turn it into compost with all sorts of haste
He writes to the forestry industry ‘To whom it may concern’
Time to make do for the emissions you burn
Please give me your sawdust straight from the mill
And place it right here upon this poo hill
They piled it up higher and higher
While the Poli read a permaculture flyer
Nitrogen we need, time for the greens
The next layer we will add, now, I need a team
He called up his friends to assist him to pull
Mighty Lantana they moved like bulls
Piles and piles of it up they did heap
To make compost with love to plant a harvest they could reap
So Lantana the well known obnoxious weed
Has been waiting for this moment to be ripped out to help seed
She held together poor soil and dead trees to boot
With her tangly web of vines and deep roots
She holds space in the interim while us white fellas awaken
Then from the ground she is gladly shaken
So the politician toiled many days in the yard
The going was tough, it sure was hard
To stir up that shit and mix it in good
He made the finest compost he could
Then Mother Earth Swept in do do what she does best
She brought on her heat and told the workers to rest
To let the pile bake, decay and break down
So the politician and his mates headed back to town
As he lay in bed that night he broke out in sweats
that lasted for days his sheets were so wet
He changed clothes many times, lost weight and transformed
Until that shitty dirt was ready to be formed
Into garden beds of rich fertile soil
So once again his dear friends and he did toil
They returned to the yard to plant seeds in abundance
Four seeds in each hole finished by a sundance
They called in their friends from the NAIDOC parade
To do a Welcome to Country where this new garden laid
And after some days, weeks and months had passed
The little seeds of abundance sprouted at last
There was celebration in each and every heart
Of the team members who worked and took park
Yet no change so great as the Politician who took action
Realising his great constipation was a fraction
Of a Journey to heal himself and step away from the Nation
He found the key to the this unravelling and tremendous transformation
To follow his dream that came on the dunny
When you speak it out loud it really sounds funny
Yet this urge is in all of us to listen within
This is where reconciliation truly begins.
with love and blessings,
Rose
