Portrait of Destiny 

I don’t live as an artist.

Destiny Deacon, 2018

multi-dimensional     magick K’ua K’ua     Erub/Mer     woman

funny     sharp     strong     communal

history     politics     radio     performance

photography     video     installation

Thanks, Sis, for dropping the ‘c’     for us urban Blaks

You gave us way to     break free     of the whitefellas expectations

define our identity     on our own terms

Thanks for taking the     white people’s invention

putting your Blak eye     behind the lens  publishing     protecting

the humanity     of us women     us men     us children

You know     I also     feel     when I’m sitting on the couch

I am always feeling     too much

storytelling     sometimes     is the only way out

you gave those dolls     a home!

Brunswick Sista wherever you go      living room     Island

darkroom     gallery     classroom     kitchen     lecture hall

you fly     tid     you fly

Ellen van Neerven is a writer and editor of Mununjali and Dutch heritage.  They have authored two poetry collections, Throat and Comfort Food, one work of fiction, Heat and Light, and a nonfiction collection called Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity, which received the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Prize for non-fiction.