I am a new arrival to this ancient place,
my feet now rooted in Burramatagal soil.
There is so much to love about this country,
from its people to the breadth of its wilderness,
But the yoke of a colonial past still betrays us.
or celebrating our diversity, solidarity, and resilience.
We do not lack the moral imagination
to forge a vision of "Australia" anew,
to acknowledge and address injustice,
to place Indigenous people and their heritage
at the very core of this nation's character,
not the fringes they are relegated to.
We have all to gain through this reconception,
it does not preclude us honoring countless others,
be it our workers or soldiers, artists or scientists,
or celebrating our diversity, solidarity, and resilience.
A national day, on the day of invasion,
betrays our collective potential.
For the character of a nation is no stagnant pond,
confined to the waters of a particular past,
it is a changeable ocean
whose tides we decide.
Reverberations
Across seasons of chaos,
we may find ourselves
consumed by a sense of futility.
Our designs for a better world,
reduced to embers of old intent.
In these times, above others, we must
train our spirit and attention towards
the vitality of building community.
We must prize the reverberations
of our limbs, senses and words,
for we are too flippant in deeming them
ordinary.
Revived and grounded by purpose,
we may find the horizon changed,
or more likely,
see it anew.
