They Ask me: Who am I?



Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2009

by Tariq Elyas


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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