This compelling debut collection of poems and prose by Dinali Virasinghe takes you on a moving journey of self-enquiry grounded in a passionate love for the Earth and unsettled by the questioning of the systems and structures underpinning our globalised world.

Tick Box Identity

When will we move beyond the notion of fixed identity

and catch-all phrases like

“Culturally and Linguistically Diverse”?

See beyond the categories

and into the heart and soul of a person.

So why, dear State Government,

does where I was born matter

for a job application?

Shouldn’t my qualifications and experience speak

to my suitability for a job?

Why does the date I arrived in this country matter,

if I’ve jumped through the hoops

to become a citizen?

Or are there gradients of acceptability

to my citizenship?

Like those old white Australians who will

oh so graciously concede

that 30 years in this country

makes me an Aussie.

Like I need them to define who I am;

and being Australian is some marvellous thing,

some golden inner circle to aspire to.

Which, if you ignore that this country is built on

theft, genocide and ecological devastation,

then perhaps it is.

But back to the tick box and its dilemma

“Culturally and Linguistically Diverse”

Is that me?

My parents are Christian

same as this country’s Prime Minister.

Although my parents wouldn’t proudly claim to

have stopped the boats

or justify the ongoing incarceration and torture (intentional or not)

of those seeking a life free from persecution.

How could they,

after all, that is why we are here.

So yes perhaps we are culturally different,

growing up in a house that watched cricket and footy

can’t cover up that we eat rice and curry with our hands.

But how about linguistically diverse?

Does three generations of speaking English as a first language

negate this second criteria?

Does my high school French and German make me

linguistically diverse?

Or is it that I remember a childhood where

English was sprinkled with Tamil and Sinhalese

older brother was Annah

pumpkins were watakkas

and wardrobes were almarahs…

Hell, why bother with all this angst

when one look at my name and

those people assessing my application

will put me in a neat little box anyway.

There’s no hiding with a name that’s never failed to

make those ‘true Aussies’ pause and then

haltingly stumble over its many syllables.

So why, dear State Government,

bother with your page of identity ensnaring boxes?

It will never reveal the

gloriously complex being that is me –

or anyone else in this globalised era

and a country founded and grown on immigration.

Poem From

Meanderings On The Margins

Written By

Dinali Virasinghe

Meanderings on the Margins explores themes of purpose, identity, diversity and love. Dinali’s experience of moving to Australia at a young age, her travels as an adult and work as an environmentalist have shaped her ideas about belonging and how to live well in a world falling apart.

Dinali Virasinghe only began writing poetry in her 30s, finding catharsis in expressing herself in this form. She published her debut book Meandering on the Margins in 2022 and has her own blog.