Ray Mardia is based in Canberra and feels like a child of the world. Her heritage is a mix of Egyptian and Bangladeshi, and she moved to Australia with her family when she was eight years old. Gripped by questions of belonging from a young age, Ray is grateful that so many myths, stories and cultures inform who she is today.
Filled with grace and aching,
Cabochons of memory,
Home is
Here
and There.
Like that one shade of the sun.
Marigold.
A gleaming rust.
It’s the first colour I remember.
Another ash slate in the sky,
used to follow me around
in the playground.
Neem, pear, lime and moss leaves
Swirled in and out of my days.
Little did I know
These colours
Would bring me solace.
They would help me sit still when
I felt
The sinew of being
Home
Here
and There.
© Ray Mardia, 2018
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