I Am Australian

• Cassandra Battle, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2008

“I Am Australian”

Open my eyes, I am now apart of everything
I see my country for the first time
I might appear different by the colour of my skin
But I do not care, because I am unique inside
As I grow I stand out from the rest
I am isolated just as my country
Is this my ultimate test?

Separation is a state of mind
Not a state of being
Yet these are not the ways of “their” kind
Our thoughts and fears create these feelings
This places us even further in the distance
But we still ask to be accepted
No matter what you say or think

All I want is to live like this
After all …“I am, you are, we are Australian”

By Cassandra Battle