The Past Still Lives by Kristy Jones

You tell us to forget,
to move on and look to the future.
But the past still hurts us, chokes us,
every time we see old pictures,
hear stories from our people
and read the journals of the invaders.
When I close my eyes, I can see the faces of the old people,
the expressions I see will haunt me forever.
Made to wear chains around their necks,
cutting into them, deep.
The horror still lives inside us,
their children’s children,
permanent memories in our hearts.
We won’t forget, can’t forget.
They were proud people,
still deserve to be proud people.
We won’t throw away what they fought for.
I will stand up and be counted
with my people any day,
teach my kids what little I know
and I will never be guilty
of what the invaders were guilty of.
I hope I never hurt anyone
as much as Australia’s history
has hurt our people.

From: Kinsella, John and Ryan, Tracy (eds.), The Fremantle Press Anthology of Western Australian Poetry, 2017, Fremantle Press: Fremantle, p. [unnumbered].
(https://books.google.com.au/books?id=o7i1DQAAQBAJ)

Date: 2000

By: Kristy Jones (c1950- )