“Home” – A Spoken Word piece written by Sheldon Rua for his speech competition at Alfriston High School.
How do you spell, South Auckland?
H-O-…???
… Oh bro, how do you spell hoary?
Can I start again??
(stutter, un-confident) How do you spell!?!
Stuff this competition!
Just listen, listen to me
This is not a speech let me tell you about a story
Nah
Let me tell you a story, about
Mangere, Otara, Otahuhu (Ota-who?)
Rewa, Kura, this is an ode to you
Let me tell you about a place we come from
Some call it South Auckland
Others, call it, “The Bottom”
A place we come from
Rugged might as well be another suburb
A place we come from where, comfortable living
Is often a foreign concept
A place we come from where somehow
Time seemed to twist itself into a noose
Leaving culture and identity
Hanging on, for dear life
Or, hanging on, to.. Whatever’s left
Or… Just hanging
The life in her eyes, lost
The safety in her arms, lost
Her pavement jaws, cracked
Her hair, dip died (dyed) in spew
You see, this sickens me
Time-twisted nooses strangled generations
Hanging out looks a lot different know
Kids don’t climb trees
They hang from them
Hanging out looks a lot different now
Kids don’t climb trees
They go to parties
Hanging out looks a lot different now
Bullrush and Kiss and Catch look a lot different now
Bullrush is now PS3
Bullrush is an ACC claim
and Kiss and Catch is not child’s play
Kiss and Catch, is sexual harassment
Welcome to South Auckland
That dirty south
That south of the border
I’m not on broadway but, this is a southside story
We ain’t on broadway but we real famous on the TV
Our name headlines… Police 10/7!
Generic terms hang loose from the mouths of media
And I guess time isn’t the only one tying nooses
Because when you hear southside
You’re more than likely to run and hide
Cross the road long before you meet us
Judge us before you see us
When you hear southside
You always hear Maori
You always hear Poly
Always hear crime
Always hear dole line
Always hear sieg
Always hear yoza
Once Were Warriors is very real
Don’t laugh, ’cause you just never know
When you hear southside
You never seem to hear white
Now this isn’t racism it’s just life
Life on the southside
Let me tell you a story about how we still rep with pride
How we can come from “The Bottom”
And learn to rise to the top of mountains
Take note from Sir Ed
Run the race and finish it
Take note from John Walker
’till the last round
David Tua
All South Aucklanders
But even though
People still ask, “what good can come from South Auckland?”
Well that’s up to you and the choices you choose
See
Sometimes you make choices but
Choices can make you too
Make us
Make us grow
Make them think
Make them know
That we come from the southside
Show them up
Just cause you can
Because as long as society
Wraps us in their warped misconceptions
Throws us in their boxes of silence
The life in her eyes will always be lost
The safety in her arms will turn to clenched fists
Her pavement jaw will always be mangled in misery
Her mouth sewn shut she’ll choke
Unless you choose to change it
She is dying
Southside is dying
Fill it with people who want to live
Stand up
Stand out
Be heard
Be loud
Be proud about where you come from
Let me tell you a story about a place we come from
Some call it “The Bottom”
I call it
Home
