Phoenicia,

Ouadi Qadisha

Levantine tongues–

the movement in the mouth of our ancestors

and things we will never come to know

in assimilation

our name normalised

(the inside of the mouth)

immigration restriction acts—

but really, in other times our name meant

of the mountain: Al Jabal

our ancestors tongues

bent backwards and buried,

like Juidi

who lay down to rest

in the Dandenongs, illegally

a sugar gum

darrang

he never spoke Arabic

until he went senile,

his tongue bent back—

assimilation

and blue Levantine eyes

makes one forget

Phoenicia,

Ouadi Qadisha

the movement in the mouth of our ancestors