Forgotten Australians, poetry

The Stranger

by Ruby Perkins (guest author) on 14 November, 2011

Ruby Jane Perkins shares her poem The Stranger.

THE STRANGER
I am a stranger
To family life
But no stranger
To institutional living.

I am a stranger
To the warmth of loving arms
But no stranger
To abandonment and rejection.

I am a stranger
To freedom
But no stranger
To the shackles of fear and despair.

I am a stranger
To the caring protection of adults
But no stranger
To the assault on my body and soul.

I am a stranger
To the laughter of other children
But no stranger
To their cries of pain and suffering.

I am a stranger
To the strength of Samson
But no stranger
To the feelings of helplessness.

I am a stranger
To speaking out about past wrongs
But no stranger
To the walls of silence.