WE ARE ALL AUSTRALIANS
Does it matter 
where you come from?
No!
Does it really matter
your mother tongue?
your skin colour?
No! No!
Does it really really matter
you’re a native resident?
you’re a new migrant?
or you’re in between?
No! No! No!
What matters:
we together cry in the burning suns  
we together wade in the flooding storms
we together fear the dreadful bush fires
we together suffer our national disasters
And the real essence:
We are all Australians.	X. Duong
THE FORTUNATE LAND*
Australian cheeses now have holes in them
the sausages bear the world smells
the coffee has become more “real”
call at our ports each day
		their strange ships
leave for others’ ports each day
		our lovely sheep
the world is fast melting
each nation is hurriedly claiming
		to be a breakaway iceberg
each continent a turning ice field
Fortunately!
this land is being secured by its multicultural anchor.
*Inspired by the article “The magical mix that makes an Australian”,
by Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald 26. 1. 98	X. Duong