Författare till dikten heter Shane Mcneil, han är från the state of Maryland in the United States och tillhör de romani folks som bor där. Shane Mcneil är en av de personer som vill knyta kontakt med oss resande/romer här i Skandinavien. Vi romanifolks från olika länder knyts mer och mer ihop via de DNA tester som finns idag och det blir tydligt att romani folks finns över hela världen.
”People who Roam”
The roads have taken us,
From shore to shore.
For the Romani who have roamed.
It’s the life once adored,
We never got bored, where we laid our head was always our home.
So many new places traveling the road
We’ve visited along the way.
Never staying too long, in our hearts played a song. That gives thanks to the lord each day.
I once knew this very old sailor,
He spent his life on a very big boat.
With the Stars as his guide, with the wind he would glide. Trusting his ship would stay afloat.
We’re not much different from that old sailor, only spending our lives on the road. With no stars to guide, but a Twinkle in our eye, and some canvas
Was our humble abode.
We made our living as we went.
Doing what we knew how.
Selling a basket there, Miri Di pen dookerin lellin lova she’d share,
Or maybe a chicken, a lamb, or a cow.
Miro dadis would stop to a farmer,
He would pen kekker sav.
The mush bekken the per gry,
Lel the vonger to your Di.
Jal to the vardo it’s time to shav.
But oh how the times have changed,
Settling most have left the road.
No longer do the gry pull the vardo,
Nor does the wheel carry the load.
Moving forward our future is bright,
But we mustn’t forget our past.
The stories we tell our children,
In their memories our history will last.
This is just one tale of the Romani,
Sorry I’m telling you threw a phone.
I wish you could set down with me,
Have a bitta toast and some tea,
Sharing the tales of our
”People who Roam”
Shane Mcneil
