Silenced

• Zunaira Tasmeem, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2022

Over spacious plains of fertile and rich crimson land
With streams of pristine water and sandwiched between sand dunes
They lived in pure exuberance and reminisced of the times of joy
Long before the strange white men took them away

Known as the Stolen Generation, they were silenced
Etched into their laborious duties with no pay
Scourged by those clueless souls for misbehaviour
Embed into their white family’s history

Their silence was no mystery
Their anguished cries weaved into a series of miscommunication
They were silenced amongst the bush and the plains
With no one to share stories with or to embrace with open arms

What did they do to deserve all this excruciating pain?
Why were they snatched from their loving families?
They were silenced because of their race
They were silenced as their presence was enveloped and sealed