1. The Pool
Djipol-joppel, playing drop the coin
with my djoogans,
Moorny sisters at the pool.
Knowing baalap miyel gonna be minditj,
so red and blurry after.
Jumping out of the water
onto warm cement
shivering ngarn-nyininy,
eating my Burger Rings.
Can't wait to go ngalla mia,
home for merany to ngarn-nyiny with my moort
even if it's just chips, polony and bread.
Ngany wayan
I have a shower and go bed.
2. Almond and Apricot Tree
Climb the tree and get your own almonds!
I was the littlest at the time.
I remember the ladder
you nailed to the tree
to make it easy for me,
stretching out to pick the best ones,
before the djoonart parrots get to them.
Sitting cracking them with a brick
on the cement in the warm sun,
it was just us four djoogans
djipol-joppel ngarn-nyininy
laughing having fun, sitting and eating,
enjoying those crunchy, sweet, juicy almonds.
Djerpin for the piled up almonds
we saved for later.
Sometimes we climbed the trees,
to sit high looking bo'
over at the coloured hills,
and the smell of the air
as it blew through our hair.
It was djoogan time, our bonding time.
I loved collecting the apricots,
djerpin climbing high
to pick the best ones for apricot jam.
Having them heaped in my shirt,
making many trips,
up and down the riggedy ladder
you nailed to the tree.
The sweet smell through ngalla gwaboduk mia
and sterile bottled jars on the sink
waiting to be filled

3. The Middle One
Ngany moorn ngardama waliny koorlangka
I am the blackest child,
the middle one,
who use to always cry.
Kaatwarra one, clown of the bunch,
warra waankany one, not afraid to speak my
mind.