by Victoria Dook
Sighing
Suspirah
Sea fingers
Dedu di mar
Stroking the shore
Ta rabah bodru di praya
Clams clinging with one foot to a broken jetty.
La la ta gatong, kung justu ung peu, na jeti kebradu.
Crumbling.
Anchoh
Wash away
Labah
Forgotten people.
Jenti desah
Not to be erased.
bibeh seng tokah labah.
Never left.
Ngak desah.
Gragu...black eyes
Gragu...olu-olu pretu
Salty
Salgadu
Brown skin.
Kaskah klor.
Memories lost...
Memoriah perdreh...
To the ocean that sunk ships and warriors.
Na mar ja intarah barku kon soldadu.
Erasing history....forgetting and moving on
Labah istoria....skiseh kung desah
To new lands!
Na tera nobu!
Abandonment...the elders cry.
Largamintu...jenti belu rasgah
I can't stay...
Yo ngkah fikah…
But those few who remain to teach others to remember...
Mas mpoku jenti fikah na prendeh ortu jenti na komemorah
Called to hear...sounds of the sea where ancient wars were fought.
Chomah ubih...sohng di mar undi gera passadu ja pasah.
Keepers and believers in roots and heritage.
Biziador kung konfiador di andasang kung ardansa.
Pride.
Gabedisah.
Not always left to wander and drift from sea to sea
Nadi tokah rudiah anyut, pasah di mar pra mar.
Believers in a place called home.
Konfiador di lugar nus chomah kaza.
Victoria Dook is an English tutor and freelance writer (part-time). She has an MA in English, a BA (Hons) in English, and Dip.in Creative Writing: Advanced Fiction and Writing for Performance. Victoria is TEFL certified and has had certified training in IELTS marking. She has written articles for unions, cooperatives, lifestyle, and dance companies. She also enjoys writing creatively.