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Josie Jul 2019
At night when I sleep I dream of home
When the day has been long and I feel so alone
A day of petty stress and wear
When I close my eyes you're always there
Home is a place of land and sea
There is nowhere else I feel more free
The faces of the Lardil elders dance in my head
Singing to me as I rest in my bed

I arrive and family is already there to greet
So cheerful and joyous to once again meet
Cuz Joelene, Dad Frank  and Mandy Moo too
So many blood relatives, thats only to name a fair few
All your beaming smiles are the sun shining bright
That's how I know all will be alright

Natural beauty spreads far and wide
The people and the land peacefully coincide
Vibrant and blissful, the water is crystal
Turtle, dugong, croc & shark swim down below
You know that's where the saltwater cowboys will go

Berradkiah is our homeland of mangroves, oysters and mud crab
Hand on the fishing line, patiently wait for the Warragud to nab
The feel of the sand between my toes, these grains and sacred story places are ancient
This is our home, I am calm and complacent

Suddenly my grandfathers singing gets stronger
I realise I can not be here much longer
You are Nungkari healer, songman and dancer
You sing so loud but I can not answer

That is when all the dancers appear standing upright
Individual rock body paint glows like bright moonlight
You sing Biela Biela the way it has been for a thousand generations
The dancers shake a leg to your famous clapsticks and move around me with uplifting sensation

And there you are
Standing tall and proud, with your cowboy hat on and white hairs intertwined
For you to sing to me in spirit is so nostalgically devine
You tell me these words as you did once before
When we were not in this realm
When we had been on the shore...
"We are the saltwater people who live by the sea, We are the white dove,
We are Bunbajee"

As I arise from my slumber, I now know...no matter who, what, when or where...

Home is in my heart and home will always be there.
unceded sovereign lands. where my grandfather was born under a tree in the bush.

— The End —