Lesson's Poem Please Resist Me

We pride ourselves in being the country that offers a fair go for all, the country that was built upon egalitarianism, opportunity and the hope of a better life, the country of mateship where multiculturalism and diversity is embraced. These values act as the cornerstones of the Australian identity as we know it, and placed Australia on the map for the rest of the world to see. However the mantra of acceptance does not hold true for all. Whether born in Australia with foreign heritage or recently migrated, some members of society still struggle to feel fully integrated within our community. Robbed of their own identity and the chance to contribute to Australia’s. Australian born poets Komninos Zervos and Luka Lesson are no strangers to being …show more content…
Lesson’s poem "Please Resist Me" highlights attitudes and prejudices that many people in our society hold against immigrants, reflecting Zervos’ work. Still, rather that demanding acceptance and proclaiming his right to be accepted as an Australian and human being, Lesson takes on an opposing view point of disregard and defiance. He speaks of rebellion against the social pressure to conform to the clichéd Australian identity. With the sole intent of carving his own identity from the rubble left behind by those to whom he used to look to for acceptance. Like the previous poem he utilises repetition, however the phrase “Please resist me” at the beginning of the first six stanzas is not a petition for approval but instead is received by his audience as a taunting challenge. These three words coupled with lines such as “colonise me, compromise me, conflict me” act as a powerful statements exhibiting a tone of loathing, defiance and mocking. Providing a stark difference to the first piece, encouraging the unjust treatment that he is so familiar with, suggesting that deflecting the coarse words and actions has become second nature. Metaphors such as “Keep me under the gun” likens the oppression of migrants to a never ending war where they constantly find themselves under fire and control, however it again shows that in their diabolical treatment they have found strength. Unlike Zevos’ writing where he conveys a message of similarity between us and those with different heritage, Lesson embraces the divide, unloading guilt and contrite onto the audience. A similarity between the two pieces is the way they deride the Australian identity, within this poem the line: “I live it like a citizen – you live a life like imprisonment” is one of the many that expresses it. Not only does