Safe
-Em Randall
I sit staring at my case managers wavy blonde hair, held back by a headband.
“You cannot go back to Country, it isn’t safe”
The colonial wall falls back on me
“It isn’t safe to travel that far”
And whilst I can understand that venturing 4 hours south to a rural town with no hospital , let alone mental health support, may not be the wisest idea
I find it hard to think of a place that would possibly be ‘safer’
Held in my Ancestors warm embrace,
Potentially fuelled by the fire of hypo-mania, I could still make the journey
Without colonial permission
But I knew there would be consequences
Ginagay Wurrun.gil
Hello magpie
I sit down , having a smoke, touching the many thousands of rocks that make up the driveway, and I ask the rocks
What Country do you come from?
Are you too, far away from home
To hear Em read their poem ‘Safe’, click below.
Em Randall is a proud Yaegl person, living on Kabi Kabi Country due to displacement. Living with multifaceted disability, Em creates visual art and poetry to make sense of the colonial world they live in, and plans to use their lived experience to work in the mental health sector to support their community.
