Born overseas but moved to the Land of Oz at six,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Confused and bewildered but over time found my feet,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Language barrier was a problem, cultural clashes were\ninevitable,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resourcefulness of children underrated, to go with the\nflow seems second-nature,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast-forward ten years, ya boy well and truly made himself\nat home,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly at the expense of the identity forged in the South\nEast Asian nation he came from,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learned some valuable lessons along the way, the good and\nthe bad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That folks are generally welcoming but others preferred\nyou\u2019d stayed in your own land,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018I come from The Land Down Under\u2019 but not all were offering\nvegemite sandwiches,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even fellow transplanted compatriots weren\u2019t above hazing\nand pettiness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such was the case in high school, a setting that was equal\nparts jail and something kinda tribal,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your place within the hierarchy seemingly beyond control,\naffecting how you\u2019ll win and influence people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can\u2019t forget those days, a mixture of highs and lows,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Idyllic beyond school gates, it was a stable life at home,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Befriended mostly denizens born and bred, fairer-skinned and\nspeaking with perfect Aussie accents,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some on the strine side if not borderline bogan but such is\nlife in Sydney\u2019s wild wild west,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wasn\u2019t well-received by aforementioned fellow transplanted\nfolks,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up in arms over why I ain\u2019t riding with my own,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dude did try but was met with the stink-eye,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tenuous grasp of the mother tongue had y\u2019all branding him\n\u2018acting white\u2019,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While others griped I was too traditional, too similar to\nthose from the motherland,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Better to move on now than tear my hair out to the last\nstrand,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Am a hip hop head now but back then was a punk, alternative\nand heavy metal fan,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perfect genres to voice out anger but deemed\ncounter-cultural said the kababayans,<\/em>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can only bang against bricks for so long before that skull\nbe cracking,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends and allies don\u2019t come easy but thankfully found some\nthat were willing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n But just \u2018cuz you\u2019re accepted don\u2019t mean that you belong,<\/p>\n\n\n\n To others born and bred this outsider was a disturbance to\nthem all, <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wearing that bullshit on their sleeves, you know exactly\nwhat I mean, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Cat and dog eater\u2019, \u2018skin tone same as poop\u2019, \u2018Flip\u2019 and\n\u2018Gook\u2019, jokes \u2018bout small appendages, too,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should\u2019ve cracked the fuckers with minds stuck in an era\nbefore \u201873,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Would\u2019ve meant suspension if not expulsion, at the time I\u2019d\nsooner hang than self-destruct for their amusement,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can\u2019t lie, though, a generous serving of punches would\u2019ve\nbeen well-deserved,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smack \u2018em til their faces broken, maybe a few limbs and\nribs, too, for good measure,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dunked on by both sides over identity politics, how the fuck\ndid it come to this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seems the universe saw it fit to assign me the role of the\npicked-on-kid,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stateless on campus, marooned on Point Nemo,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ain\u2019t nobody worth trusting so the struggle was mine alone,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends came and went, had to fend for myself sooner or\nlater,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such was the case by high school graduation, frowning in that\npicture for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But fuck it, it\u2019s in the past where it belongs, no point\ncrying \u2018bout it now,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gotta move on to level up, it\u2019s been done and dusted about,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Might as well forgive and let go, but for the target it\u2019s\nhard to forget,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Great insults last a long time, should there be a reunion\nthese eyes will serve to remind them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Born overseas but moved to the Land of Oz at six, Confused and bewildered but over time found my feet, Language barrier was a problem, cultural clashes were inevitable, The resourcefulness of children underrated, to go with the flow seems second-nature, Fast-forward ten years, ya boy well and truly made himself at home, Sadly at … <\/p>\n