| As we, Ursula and I, were celebrating Constitution Day in Canberra, we missed something interesting in Sydney. Ela Cesarska called me late in the night, telling me that the Hon. John Aquilina, while delivering a beautiful speech in NSW Parliament House, had recited a poem about Kosciuszko. "The name of Kosciuszko was repeated many times in that poem," Ela said. I had no doubt that it was a poem taken from the Mountain Whispers anthology published last year on the occasion of the Mound & Mt Kosciuszko Festival. There is only one poem in the world where the name Kosciuszko is repeated at least five times. And it's the poem written by Lee Taylor Friend, our dear friend from Jindabyne!
Listen to the 'Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko' poem recited by the Hon. John Aquilina. From SBS Radio
Listen to the speech by John Aquilina delivered on the 3rd of May, 2009. From SBS Radio
Listen to Consul General Ryszard Sarkowicz's speech. Also from SBS Radio
Well, in order to tell the world the great news, I had to make sure which poem it was, from which book. It took two days to finalise my query. First of all, the office of John Aquilina confirmed that the poem came from the Mountain Whispers anthology. Secondly, SBS Radio published the recording on its internet website and I could easily identify it. Yes, the poem was one of the many entries in our 2008 poetry competition, organised by the Puls Polonii Cultural Foundation (Fundacja Kulturalna Pulsu Polonii). What an unexpected achievement. I felt like sharing my joy with everyone, and started with the Polish Ambassador. But the great joy was spoilt a bit as my message (with the poem attached) bounced back with the explanation that it did not accept "spam messages". Oh, boy. Now I am a bit scared to send it to the President of Poland and other VIPs.
Ernestyna Skurjat-Kozek
Photo: SBS Radio Website |
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