I Am

I Am

In your mind I am several shades of black

but in my spirit shade,

born of the Creator in the Dreaming long ago,

I was the keeper of the land

and I was with the land by day

under the blazing sun, Wiriupranili,

and by night under the cool moon, Japara,

and my shadows were always by my side

and we shared our identity in peace

with the soul of the land

and we shared our lives and our destiny

with all that lived upon the land

and we listened to the voices of the land

and we were free.

But now, the torch of Wiriupranili has dimmed

and the voice of the soul of the land is silent

and the Koori people have been eclipsed

along with much that lived upon the land.

And now, I am cruelly cast forever

as the ubiquitous shadow of your conscience,

as the mirror and measure

of your political correctness

in your synthetic, suburban society.

And yet, although I am long hidden in your shade,

I am still the traditional spirit keeper of the land

and I feel your discomfort

at the reflection of my blackness

and I smell your fear

of your own shadow

and I sense your alarm

in what you have made of me

of what now, I am.