Alan John Branford - Both of Me

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Both of Me

Free verse in English and Kaurna
The meanings of individual Kaurna words are made clear by the context
Three Kaurna sentences:

Wanti niina? = Where are you going? – Interrogative, second person, singular
Ngai wardli-ana = I am going home – Indicative, first person, singular
Ngadli wardli-ana = Both of us are going home – Indicative, first person, dual – the Kaurna language has a grammatically fully integrated dual number, with plural meaning more than two

Prologue
I was born at Henley Beach on the shores of Gulf St Vincent. I grew up in Fulham in the western suburbs of Adelaide. The River Torrens used to form a wetland here, before an outlet to the sea was constructed by the European colonists.
I was born on the foreshore of Wonggayerlo (Western Sea) on the edge of Witongga (the ‘Reed Beds’). I grew up in Witongga, in the land of the Kaurna people. Karrawirra Pari (Red Gum Forest River) used to form a wetland here, before an outlet to Wonggayerlo (Western Sea) was constructed by the European invaders.
I am not a Kaurna man, but I am a Witongga man.

Dusk.
I wander to the banks of Karrawirra Pari,
And I recline beneath an ancient karra.
I close my eyes and focus on the noises of the pari,
And on the scents of the red gum eucalypts.
After a time, I hear a voice say, “Wanti niina?”
“Ngadli Wonggayerlo-ana, wardli-ana,” I reply.
Surely you mean, “Ngai wardli-ana.”
“No. There are two of me.”

A light sea breeze springs up,
And the leaves of the red gum acknowledge my claim.
I continue, “My yitpi, my soul, belongs to the kauwe,
The water of my totem, the dolphin, the yampu.
The pelicans of the wetland, the yaltu-yaltu,
Will usher my body down the river to the sea,
Where I shall join the yampu-yampu and be free.”
Silence.

Copyright © 6 June 2025, Alan John Branford

This poem was read to the July 2025 meeting of the Friendly Street Poets, Adelaide.

(July 2025)

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Last Update: 6 July 2025