Are migrants proud Australians?
Our nation based on immigration,
One polyglot meld of humanity,
To Australia show fidelity,
Our nation of peaceful tolerance,
People from Earth's shifting sands,
Living here in our Great Southern Land,
Deployment should not be our dance,
Nothing wrong with loyalty,
Patriotism our children's legacy,
---Great Southern Land,
All welcome to be Australians!

I stand for the forgotten, the ones nations have forsaken,
Left to die on the open seas, or in the hidden camps,
Or in the care of those my country has paid to keep them quiet.
You will not keep us silent,
We will shout and scream until the voices of those across the ocean are heard
Until they are lead onto the podium and given the right to speak again, the right from long ago.

I will stand for my brothers and sisters, aunties, uncles, my family; spread across the earth who seek the shelter of my homeland, and I will welcome them with open arms.
And you will not stop me.

I wasn’t sure if it was
the pounding of my heart,
the gentle autumn touch,
or your smile I call art
but it happened all too fast
Under the radiant moon
it happened like a dream
a dream too good to be true

The ravens sing songs
The stars emerge unafraid
Starry, starry night.

winter nights,
the gumtrees would brush up against my window.
i could hear the leaves fall,
and the branches twist,
the raindrops slapping the pavement,
the beaded droplets slithering down my window.
and when i looked out
into the midnight darkness,
i saw dim street lights,
and bobbing buoys detailed with marine lights.
i could smell the fine detail of smoke,
the salty crisp air.

those nights,
i wished your body was next to mine,
sleeping soundly-
i would have imagined you smelled like
salt and rain-
me, tracing the rope burns stamped into your palm.
and those nights,  
while the playful gumtrees tickled my window...
i knew everything would be sound
in the morning.

I’m afraid of living in a
dreary world without you
So I went out into the fields
And picked
ten thousand sunflowers.
As they brightened my room
I was reminded
of the way your eyes
would brighten up my life

I looked and I looked
deep into your eyes
And there you were
Lost in the fires
You were lost
Nobody was home
I screamed and I screamed
I screamed your name
But nobody was home
You were lost to the flame

Poppies abloom in memoriam.

Fields content of the past.

Storms brewing above.

To renew them once again.

Memories of battle, scars on the earth.
Revealed once again.

In the fields.

It was the poppies to bloom

In memoriam.