Kokartha women share tales of living

from the land, walking forever

through wattle country
In a good season, yellow balls blaze

with the scent of honey

Wirilda fills the desert air

Husks wait for years, for fire to open

each hard black shell, drop seeds

ripe for sprouting
I go out with the Aunties to beat

the trees with sticks, roast shiny beads

in slow embers. Once pounded

to a fragrant paste, we cook

patty cakes shared warm

from a bush oven
Wirilda trees now grow on farms

to harvest the precious beans

Roasted and ground

for their coffee scent

The dark aroma packaged

as Native Bush Tucker
Wood smoke and honey blossom

still linger on the tongue

the bitter-sweet taste of wattle seed

trapped inside

Wirilda: desert wattle (acacia retinodes)

Kokartha: Aboriginal Nation, South Australia