Marina Sano Litchfield: 'Three'
Marina Sano Litchfield reading ‘Three’
I know the evergreen comfort of warm humidity
A white Christmas and rolling a decorative snowman
A cold July, brisk ocean winds whipping by
Aussie Aussie Aussie オイオイ,
オイでMerlion へ、
I want to show you my childhood
Don’t feed the macaques
What’s a kangaroo warning?
Wave as the neighbourhood kids march by
Two by two, two by two
ランドセルと黄色い帽子
みんな手繋ぐ
Parliament casts out dual citizens
I grip my passports tightly, protect
My equatorial home
It’s her birthday
I hope it’s better for you
She babbles happily
고모
Glossary
オイオイ: phonetic “oi oi” [Japanese]
オイでMerlion へ、: (roughly) to the Merlion [Japanese + English]
** オイで : is a pun on the Japanese ‘come here’ (oide)
ランドセルと黄色い帽子: school backpacks and yellow hats [Japanese]
みんな手繋ぐ: everyone hold hands [Japanese]
고모: aunty (on the brother’s side) [Korean]
Pronunciation guide
オイオイ: phonetic “oi oi” [Japanese]
オイでMerlion へ、: oide Merlion e [Japanese + English]
ランドセルと黄色い帽子: randoseru to kiiroi boushi
みんな手繋ぐ: minna te tsunagu
고모: gomo
Marina Sano Litchfield is a Japanese and Australian writer. Raised in Singapore, she moved to Melbourne when entering university. Her writing reflects ideas of being in-between cultures and people, with a passion to expand the range of experiences that we see represented in print and the media.