I came here on a boat
of hope
Bereft
of home
family
identity
I sought shelter
from the storm
of war
hatred
scorn
Alone on a sea
with the clothes on my back
one shoe
a love letter
she wrote
as she drew
her final breathe
Australia
land of the free
democracy
A chance to leave behind
my pain
begin again
bit I find
more of the same
A land where running from fear
is a crime
They say I leapt ahead
instead of standing
in some orderly
imaginary queue
I am punished for surviving
locked away
You believe people
will stop running to you
if you deprive them of liberty
dignity
But the greatest loss has past
the writer of the note
my other shoe
All that's left to me
is life
and that
depends on you