There was a conversation he wanted to have, but no way to have it’

We are now considering an Indigenous voice to Parliament and my father has lost his voice. It feels like a time to reflect.

He was never one to talk too much, too lightly. He neither feared nor filled a silence. So, when he spoke, people listened. There was wisdom in what he said, and if not wisdom, a story well told; an excellent joke; commentary so dry it crackled.

His words were worth waiting for, but now he is almost silent. He sometimes…