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They Ask me: "Who am I?" *
They ask me: "Who am I?" I am the land of unspoken truth. I am the sky of untold stories. I am the distant stars, of distant children and I don't know which one is mine. I am the wind… that carries my lullaby to a stolen generation like a scar in a mirror I stare at everyday. I am the tears of the rain, and don't tell me they are scarce.
They ask me: "who am I?" I am the trees of unwritten history. I am the blazing sun of spiritual mythology. I am the clouds of racing heartbeats and oppressed memories. I am the storms that discharge my wistful feelings. I am the sand … feel me in your bare feet.
I am the Ocean, and I have many names. I am the crushing waves That scream FREEDOOM.
I am the rock they named, Not the spirit they claimed.
They ask me: "who am I?" From Adam and Eve, I am not born. Not the land they declare. Not an English, nor Welsh. Neither Scottish, nor Polish. Not a Christian, nor a Jew. Neither Hindu, nor Buddhist. Not a Muslim, nor a Pagan.
Not a King, nor a Queen. Neither a Presented, nor a Chief. I am the first and never the last. I am Kookaburra. Ask me to sing a song. I am the gum trees, burn me again. I am Acacia, a magnanimity in your soul. I am Aboriginal Dreaming, Un- reveal my mystery.
You ask me: "who am I?"
I am… the land… I am… I am…. I am Kanyini.
By Tariq Elyas
* I used present tense form to indicate a continuous statement, a face to face interaction, a fact that roams in our memory.
Mr. Tariq Faisal Elyas holds two M.A.s from the United States, one in Applied Linguistics and another in American Literature and a graduate degree in TESOL.
Also, Mr. Elyas also has had a Chevening Fellowship in Intentional Law and Human Rights from University of Nottingham in England. Mr. Elyas has worked as a freelance writer for the two leading English Newspaper in KSA-Arabs News and Saudi Gazette. He has presented and published in various local and International conferences and journals.
Currently, he is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. And he is the Winner of 2008 Bundey Prize for English Verse from South Australia. His interests are: Global English, Humans Rights, International Law, Language Rights, and Pedagogy.
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