Rebecca was born in Dharug Country and is of Khasi and European ancestry. She dabbled in poetry as a child, and in the last year, returned to pottering in poetry and song writing as a form of healing. When feeling lost, she closes her eyes and transports to rest in the sacred grove of her Khasi family.
Poet’s statement:
This poem is about finding home as a mixed-race child growing up in Australia. It includes language from my mother’s tongue – Khasi. The Khasi are an indigenous ethnic group from the hills of Meghalaya in far north-east India.
KA ÏING / HOME
I was born here
But quickly learnt
I am not from here
Well-meaning questions
“Where are you from?”
Meaning well…
That, I slowly figured out
Sometimes, no questions
Just stares or slurs
I guess their people were here first
But as far as time goes
We both arrived rather late
I see how they treat people
How my dad
Treats my mum
Well, sometimes I embrace
I am not from here
The line of my Mei
It runs long
We die and return
To our family line
Never really leaving
Where we are from
But now, I am mixed
Too tall, too light
As a child, Mei did not pass me her tongue
Too afraid I would not blend
“Where are you from?”
Blending would take more than a language lost
“Where are you from?”
I’m not sure
But I’d like to find home
Ka ïing
Home
A place where they smile and beckon
Ale, shong
Come, sit
Iathuh ia nga shaphang jong phi
Tell me about you
Don’t tell me of the surface
Go deep
This is the place where we connect
Where our souls are seen
This is where I am from
Kane ka dei ka shnong jong nga
This is where we are from
Kane ka dei ka shnong jong ngi
This is home
Kane ka dei ka ïing
© Rebecca, 2022
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