I Am Australian

• Chelsea Chivers, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2010

I am Australian

Freedom.
One basic word, with a powerful meaning.
Read on,
Because we are not bleeding.

In the dead of night,
The fire begins.
Taking homes, & lives,
Punishing, others for their sins.

Waves come rolling,
With force like a boulder,
Whipping everything in its path,
Nobody getting older.

Dirt beginning to crumble,
Beneath their feet.
Trying to run, but stopped by a stumble,
To their death, they may meet.

You look around you,
to see the dreaded flood.
There’s nothing you can do,
But look at all the blood.

Your eyes are covered,
Nobody can see your face.
& if you are discovered,
You are the countries disgrace.

Living on the streets,
With no place to call home.
You are seen as a nobody,
& have nobody of your own.

The pain is overbearing,
& you begin to cry.
But the tearing pain inside you,
Is what helps you die.

Your stomach is beyond grumbling,
You are an empty soul.
You can’t stand without fumbling,
You are becoming less than whole.

He is standing right in front of you,
Holding his gun.
Realising that there is nothing you can do,
You begin to run.

But the bullet hits your back,
& you feel excruciating pain,
everything goes black,
& the pain begins to fade.

You open your eyes to the face of a stranger,
Who gives you some food,
& says “Don’t worry, your away from the danger”.

Do you now understand,
what their lives are like?
Not knowing how to read,
or how to write.

Or not knowing if you’ll live another day,
whether it be from starvation, or gun power?
Knowing that there’s nothing you could do or say,
You can only cower.

You see, this is what it means to be Australian,
Not having to run, & hide.
Not having to worry about when you will eat again,
Not having to say goodbye.

But my time has come,
& now I have to say goodbye.
But before I leave, I must say,
that I’m proud that you’ve stood by.

There are no words of comfort
that can hope to ease the pain
Of losing homes and loved
ones the memories will remain
Within the silent tears you’ll find
the strength to carry on
You’re not alone,
we are with you.

We are Australian.