January 26th

• Jaden Ogwayo-Davey, Grade 12
• Poetry
• 2022

As prisoners watch the wildlife roam
Through gaps between steel bars,
I worry for their ancestors
Who watch down from the stars.

From the green eucalyptus to
Red Uluru outback,
This country lost its vibrancy
When white replaced the black.

Replete with treasures like the Reef
There's plenty we display—
Except for all the suffering
Behind our nation's day.

A sunburnt country disengaged
From blatant genocide.
A holiday we use to treat
The scars we seek to hide.