Here I Am

Airevbowan Olaghere

Here I am, in Boorloo, on Whadjuk Noongar Country,  
after decades of wandering  
from red earth towns, island winds,  
and cities where prayer rose before sunrise.  
 

Now standing on ground with stories older than memory,  
learning to listen with ears shaped by elsewhere,  
quieting what I carried  
to hear what Country is saying.  
 

Here I am, under a summer heat  
that presses hard against the skin,  
learning to move slowly,  
to respect the sun’s authority.  
 

Intrigued by six seasons  
that do not follow the Gregorian calendar— 
time marked instead by wind, rain, soil, and flowering,  
by what arrives and what retreats.  
 

Here I am, learning that listening is relational  
in spaces shaped by story, patience, and trust.  
Where listening with head, heart, and feet  
is not metaphor but responsibility.  
 

In a circle of stories,  
I sit with others to hear what is spoken and carried underneath.  
Names, memories, and silences pass between us.  
I learn that listening is not waiting to speak  
but making room for what arrives.  
 

Here I am, pursuing a path in social work,  
I learn that colonisation is not past tense,  
that listening is an ethical practice,  
and that wellbeing is inseparable  
from Country, culture, and truth.  
 

Here I am, still becoming,  
trusting that if I stay and listen carefully enough,  
I might one day find my place in the listening.