Australia Day
G’day, G’day!
Mate
Before it’s too late
I wanna celebrate
With you this marvelous date
We came Down Under
In 1995
War and thunder
We had just survived
‘Straya gave us a home
Complete with a garden gnome
I learned English But
The Aussies swallowed and cut
Their words very short
It’s like halfway through a phrase, they’d press abort
But today I’m good as bloody gold
I read newspaper furphies and catch the common cold
I bellow Waltzing Matilda from the core
Whilst Johnno recaptures Ned Kelly’s folklore
Occasionally we’d peek through the neighbour’s door
To watch Clarkey smash another majestic four
(we don’t have pay TV)
Oh it’s good to don the Gold and Green
And yell Ozzie–Ozzie–Ozzie at the screen
I yabber in Aussie
And shoo the mozzie
At the wicket
–That’s right, I now play cricket
After a win, I don’t drink beer
But raise my soda and cheers ‘here, here’
Beautiful land, girt by the seas
Koalas, roos and ghost gum trees
Play in freedom. But Gee Whiz
Can we stop debating raising uni fees?
Please
Explain.
So many cultures crash and collide
Colourful people come from far and wide
Some to see the Reef, others to reside
And chant their Aussie oath side by side
No matter what religion or race
Fill in the blank but end it with ‘ace’
Boat people sadly still get a bad rap
When they arrive, our conscience takes a nap
But this is the land which bred Bradman & Phar Lap
And iconized vegemite, meat pies and the felafel wrap
So – Advance Australia Fair
Dinkum will be born in the air
Barbies and shrimps and footy teams
Swimming in water holes and river streams
Freedom of speech and anti–Abbott memes
And reaching to the skies with boundless dreams
All a taste of this free country I call home
Though I’m still unsure of my garden gnome.
This piece was written to celebrate the modern understanding of Australia Day and to celebrate and reflect on our diverse and free society. I acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which I live, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I would like to pay my utmost respects to their Elders both past and present.
Osamah Sami أسامه سامي 