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.