Come, let me teach you

I am here just for that

I can teach you life

Or the white man’s language

Hey, wait! Aren’t you one of them?

The ones who came to suck our resources?

The ones who shook us from our slumbers,

And river squats with the sarong over our heads?

No, that wasn’t me

That was someone else, in fact, no one!

I am here to teach you

Because that’s what I know best!

Hey, wait!

Go back to where you came from

You came to take our land,

Our religion and culture.

You are different!

You don’t belong here!

No, wait! I belong here!

I have always been here.

I speak the same language,

I bow before this flag

I went to your school

And share food with you.

Hey, wait!

Are you here to take my share?

My privilege? My voice?

Go back to where you were before

No, no, never!

I can’t return anywhere

This is my home

This very soil is my grave

The blood that spilled from my mum’s womb,

The day I was born, was shed here

In this very land.

I shall depart from this land

Because I have lived here

In this very land

This is mine as much as it’s yours.

I can’t go back,

I belong here

Cover image by Nikola Jovanovic on Unsplash. The copyright for I Can’t Go Back, I Belong Here belongs to Kalaimathy Irene.

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