cradled under sky

made in the image of Her

brown pores

sun stained

love soaked

threaded skin

soothing voice

not without tears

‍

my mother is a gumtree

pink blossom

embedded roots

with arched leaves like tongue to swallow the story of the rain

carrying whispers from my Country to yours

a residual rhythm

‍

my mother is a riverbed

daring depths

with messages from sun and sky carved in sand

soft silt dancing around turtle

her current palming grass along the banks

the rise and fall and float, a melody

‍

the art of permanence

alive forever

matriarchal patterns a cyclical gift

my fingerprints were a gift from her womb

with song in skin

so that it will never be forgotten

‍

perpetual bloodlines

interminable

there is no end

my mother

and her mother

and her mother

is the earth

‍