Cornelia reading ‘River Song’ in Maipa Village Language, Papua New Guinea

Be still little guardians
can you let me pass?
Let me swim in your river
or is it your looking glass?

Take the song of every river
you have heard in tunes.
Weave them all together,
make a ladder to the moon.

Oh, haven’t you heard
the new river songs,
telling you clearly to
make me belong?

Make your way to the stars
as you let me pass.
Let me swim in your river
become your looking glass.

(c) June Perkins (From Magic Fish Dreaming)

We shared this at the launch of Magic Fish Dreaming.

It would be special to have the whole book one day translated into my mother’s language and other languages like French because then Helene’s family and friends could read it in translation, although translating poetry can be very tricky.