After the Whitefellas Came

The son chases lizards,
captures birds.
The father plays card games.
       The deck is cut.
The son is twelve.
A zebra finch
       screams in his hand.
The ash is white.
 
In camp, the father dreams
       of Falcons,
trips to Alice Springs.
The son cooks "little chickens"
       in his billy can.
He pretends
       he can't survive
       without them.
Classrooms are empty.
 
At the settlement store,
a tin of dog food sits in the heart
of a cardless man.
 
The father stares at his hand.
The son looks at his father.
        Wind blows.
The game picks up its blankets,
moves inside
                the humpy.

Note: "Humpy" is the name for a traditional Aboriginal dwelling, often made of bark, but in recent times, more usually corrugated iron.

© Billy Marshall Stoneking