And after the storm, I run and run as the rains come. And I look up, I look up. On my knees and out of luck, I look up. Night has always pushed up day. You must know life to see decay. But I won’t rot, I won’t rot. Not this mind and not this heart, I won’t rot. And I took you by the hand. And we stood tall. And remembered our own land, what we stood for. And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you’ll find there. With grace in your heart, and flowers in your hair. And now I cling to what I knew. I saw exactly what was true. But oh no more. That’s why I hold with all I have. That’s why I hold.
In this documentary, Aboriginal elder Bob Randall poignantly explains why his people are now struggling in a modern world and what needs to be done for them to move forward. Bob has also written a book called ‘Songman – the story of an aboriginal elder’ published by ABC Books. What’s also of interest is the story behind the making of Kanyini – of film maker Melanie Hogan. The documentary and her story are on the Kanyini website and also in Issue 8 of Dumbo Feather magazine.
The road in the end taking the path the sun had taken, into the western sea, and the moon rising behind you as you stood where ground turned to ocean: no way to your future now but the way your shadow could take, walking before you across water, going where shadows go, no way to make sense of a world that wouldn’t let you pass except to call an end to the way you had come, to take out each frayed letter you brought and light their illumined corners, and to read them as they drifted through the western light; to empty your bags; to sort this and to leave that; to promise what you needed to promise all along, and to abandon the shoes that had brought you here right at the water’s edge, not because you had given up but because now, you would find a different way to tread, and because, through it all, part of you could still walk on, no matter how, over the waves.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg followed in the footsteps of racial equality to change the way the world is for American women. Both still require vigilant attention and ongoing change, but there is hope in this documentary – and the pursuit of a dream.
