By Moya Pacey
In the dark cage of the village
a woman’s voice sings of the girl
who stole her brothers’ honour.
They shaved her black curls,
closed her green eyes, scooped
the body into a sack
threw it into the cold river.
Come back into the world
girl with black curls and green eyes.
Put on your wedding shoes.
Let your hennaed fingers
beat the hand drum.
Sing your landay
over and over.
(First published in ‘One last border: poetry for refugees’ by Hazel Hall, Moya Pacey and Sandra Renew (Ginninderra Press, Adelaide, Australia 2015); also published in ‘Eureka Street’ 2015 and in Moya’s poetry collection, ‘Black Tulips’ (Recent Works Press, 2017).)
Artwork by Kathryn Lamont.