Sydney Terror Siege

RIP Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson. Two innocent victims, killed in the 16 hour siege.

The message was clear in this siege.

That no matter what country you are in,

Nobody, no country, is safe from 

Extremists and terrorism.

Now we're not the only country,

Who turns on the television at 6pm

To watch the news and say,

"Oh poor them" to other countries, 

Experiencing terrorism.

Now we're just like every other country,

Having had one attack, or siege,

And fearfully dreading but expecting,

When the next one will come.

But no matter what happens,

We will all stay strong as a free,

Democratic and loving society.

We will never cave in.

We will stay together, as an entire nation,

Stand proud and tall,

And bravely fight and stand together,

With our heads held up high,

With the knowledge that nothing can destroy us.

Nothing can destroy our freedom, or democracy,

Our laws and free speech.

Nothing can break us down. 

Seen clearly by the thousands of flowers,

Laid side by side on a makeshift memorial in Martin Place,

For the hostages and victims, but most of all,

Young, free and proud Australians who died in the siege.

Thousands paid tribute to Katrina Dawson,

A barrister but most importantly, a proud mother of 3 children,

And Tori Johnson, the manager of Lindt Cafe,

Thousands of messages, and thousands of flowers.

The strength of love and support

Within the Australian society,

Will no doubt help the relatives and families

Of Katrina and Tori back on their feet 

After this terrible incident, ordeal, SIEGE.

The Australian society, near and far from Sydney,

Will forever be mourning the loss of TWO young Australians.

The loss of TWO amazingly beautiful, young, and

INNOCENT victims on Monday 15th December 2014. 

Lost, but never forgotten.

RIP Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson.

You will be forever in everyone's hearts, minds and souls.

Never forget.

Author's Note

PLEASE> BEFORE you comment, READ THIS.

Does ANYONE NOT understand my main message in writing this poem?! Or does everyone just read the first two stanzas and start commenting like mad?! MY MAIN MESSAGE WAS NOT THAT "That no matter what country you are in,/ Nobody, no country, is safe from/
Extremists and terrorism." READ THE ENTIRE POEM, SOAK IN THE WORDS, and then MAYBE you'll finally understand this poem.
I KNOW it's not an act of terrorism, it's an act of a lone wolf. But no matter what, I'm just going to keep my poem as it is, the original version, so TAKE IT, OR LEAVE IT.

If you feel the need to comment on about whether or not it's an act of a terrorist, an extremist/a lone wolf, read over the bottom comments, I can't deal with another person at the moment wanting to start another argument. Instead, if I find another person who has repeated the SAME damn argument as another commenter did on here, I'll disable comments for this poem, and maybe for future poems too. Maybe.

Comment if you wish, but I pray to God you decided to be smart about it and read all of what I wrote above. xxx

Reviews

[Riss Ryker]

No one is safe in this world, whether it be from mental illness or acts of terrorism, we all targets of madmen. In my city, two young teens that my daughter went to school with, shot two other young boys, 13 and 15 point blank, then attempted to chop them up. It was horrific. Two families torn apart by madness. Your poem says it all. As a city, a country, a NATION, we need to be always vigilant. We need to look out for one another as HUMANS. Great piece!

[1Disawsum]

Yes, very true. It's at the same time, quite sad that some people know others who have a psychotic disease, yet they don't get the victims help for it. They let the victims run free, killing humans in the process. Yes, we do need to look out for one another, seek the help some people need but can't get themselves. Thankyou!

[Confuser]

It is terrible and your message is very clear, quite a beautiful writing, tribute and statement. I loved it. It is so hard to deal with things like these, not knowing what to say, but you have managed to in such a wonderful way. I applaud you. Thank you.

[1Disawsum]

Yes, it is indeed terrible, the lives lost, Australian cities unsure of their surroundings and who they trust... Thankyou!!! As you can tell, it definitely is hard to deal with these types of poems, where my point of view is not taken into consideration, rather, almost everyone here is just arguing with me over a word I put in.
Thankyou so much for being able to get PAST the words I wrote, and rather, read the reason WHY I decided to write and post this story. :) xxx

[Confuser]

In every action, to me, the biggest little word is alway WHY!!! I am so glad you wrote it.

[Confuser]

I re-read, it is strong, you are strong, a message clear; so full of emotion. Sad, I don't how anyone could have expressed it better. T/Y

[1Disawsum]

Yes, agreed. Thank you so so much! xxx

[Confuser]

Y/W...........................................Dale

[Matching Socks]

It's just tragic no matter how you slice it. :-(

[1Disawsum]

Yes, it is. And please kindly define what you mean by "how you slice it"?

[Matching Socks]

No matter how you look at at it,

[1Disawsum]

oh ok, thanks! I think I was just so annoyed last night I couldn't read your sentence clearly and simply... haha sorry! :) And thanks for you comment, it's very much appreciated.

[charlie]

While this experience may have been a nerve wrenching event for those who were held hostage, this siege was not "terrorism", nor the actions of any "extremist" kind of group...
The sole person responsible for holding these people hostage with one firearm was mentally ill (as most gun totting criminals are).
Sorry: but no terrorism or extremism here - except in propaganda like this, which seems intent on peddling fear and misinformation.

[1Disawsum]

Yes, but it was an act of an extremist. That is known as a fact (police). And very true, most of them do have a mental illness. Misinformation... no, more like excluding details by police. But if you mean by the media, very true. Media shouts propaganda, and of course, misinformation. THAT I'll agree with you wholeheartedly on!

[1Disawsum]

And have you read the entire poem, or did you just stop on the FIRST stanza? Honestly, people these days don't know how to read a poem FIRST before commenting. Frustrating.

[charlie]

Yes. I did read the entire piece. Twice.

[1Disawsum]

right. And you still decide to comment on that ONE word I put in the poem. And not EVERYTHING else I wrote, and you just missed the entire meaning of this poem!!! Oh well, you can choose what you see, as I did when this was written.

[1Disawsum]

aargh it's out of order.

[charlie]

Well, you stated the premise of your writing rather clearly in the first four lines. I think it's an erroneous premise, and that - consequently - does colour the rest of what follows... If you don't much like that it is read that way, perhaps change the way you compose your thoughts when you want others to read them. If you don't much care, then there's no need for argument, is there?

[1Disawsum]

If that's what you say, then OK, as it is true I started with that in the first line. However, what did I REALLY mean by "message"? Did I mean MY message to everyone after what happened? NO. Did I mean Monis' message after he died? I'll let you answer that one yourself. It is, however, quite obviously written LATER if you cared to actually read over it (you reading the poem twice... could be truth, but you seeing the words AND absorbing them and developing them over in your brain... no. Otherwise, you'd get my words), that the true reasoning behind why I wrote this poem and published it was to show that no matter what happens, Australia will always stand as a strong, supporting country. Supporting each other in times of bad happenings, no matter where we are. We have lost two young, beautiful souls, through tragedy, but we will always continue to be strong, and supportive of each other. Never knew I had to write this out for people to understand this.

[1Disawsum]

Annnnd I realised I didn't answer the rest of your comment! Before I reply though, I must apologise to you. My comment above was written when I was angry, annoyed and frustrated that very few people understood the poem the way I wanted it to be. The message, in my POV, was quite obvious, but people started picking out tiny details in the poem, that made them lose sight of why they're reading this poem in the first place. They lost the meaning of it, because there brain just could not get rid of their thoughts. First judgment, in a way. Anyway, I'm sorry about the comment above. I was very harsh, and based on that comment, I even call myself quite rude! I'll try to... reign my emotions in before I lash out in the comments.
Actually, I have technically replied to your comment... done! :)

[Coyote Poetry]

A sad day for all of us. Last month Canada and the craziness in the Middle East. People who believe they are safe. Are holding fear. We can't allow this. Terror wants fear. We must stand with the poor people lost and show the terrorist we are not afraid and strong. I will put the family of Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson in my prayers.
Coyote

[1Disawsum]

Yes, a sad day for the entire world, at one point in time. Yes, we must stand strong and proud, with the knowledge that we will not cave in with the fear. Yes, please do. Two innocent people lost, although why, we probably will never know... shot by police, or shot by Monis? That information will most probably be confidential to the police force. But either way, two innocent souls were lost, taken. Just pray for the world, for terrorists to have justice placed upon them. I will do that. xxx Thank you for the comment, much appreciated.

[Coyote Poetry]

A powerful and needed poem my Friend.

[1Disawsum]

Yes, it was definitely needed. The ONLY person who commented here on this poem who has read the ENTIRE poem through BEFORE commenting. Thankyou SO much for that.

[Droc]

All of you, please read back over all comments! There is no rational in this debate! The links to terrorism are still being made. It is a terrible crime with absolutely no link to global terroism, and as you agree, but seem to forget each time you comment and further inflame a debate we should not be having. That already puts us halfway down the path heading towards where we shouldn't be going. Apart from being sarcastic and downright rude, the author shows chilling fears of that doomsday trait that seems to wait for the act so as to justify the fear, sluiced ovver with that final "I wont say I told you so . . . but I did!" The thing is, how much life are people going to loose while they wait, and how lonely will they (you) be when you have driven people away with your cutting attitude?" Sorry if I am out of order.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome.

[1Disawsum]

Droc: True, I do agree that there's no terrorism involved (why I wrote so, I don't know... but not bothered to change it, so take it, or leave it, your choice) and it was simply an act of a lone wolf. You know though, you also add fuel to fire by COMMENTING on this debate, so...? Your reasoning is just as much directed towards me as it does you.
Yes, sarcastic was the point of my above comment, if that is what you were referring to. However, "downright rude"? I wonder why? Maybe it's because you decided to base your comment PURELY on that ONE issue you had with this poem, about how Monis was not a terrorist? And how I was putting fear into other residents of Australia, particularly Sydneysiders? However, if you read the poem properly and went over the fact that I called him a terrorist and not the fact that the overall true meaning of the poem was to say that Australia will never forget the two lost innocent souls, who died in Australia's FIRST (first in a long time)... incident doesn't cover it, but I have a temporary mind block...
And what do you mean by I "sluiced ovver with that final "I wont say I told you so . . . but I did!""???
If you take me as some b***h with a temperamental attitude, or bitchy, sarcastic and rude attitude, then you do not know much about life. Only a few comments, and you DARE to judge me? Judge my attitude, when all you've ever experienced is the wrath of someone online, with whom you've never met before?
And don't worry, I've lived with loneliness my entire life, and isolation and exclusion. First family, then school. Don't worry, if the time comes as you say it may, then I'll handle it myself, just like I have been doing for eternity. I've been accused of being a traitor, a wh*re, an idiot, a sl*t, a c*nt etc. But I've never been said to have a "cutting attitude". Another thing to add to my long list of flaws, hm?

[1Disawsum]

Oh, and Droc. One last thing/question I have for you. You say "It is a terrible crime with absolutely no link to global terroism, and as you agree, but seem to forget each time you comment and further inflame a debate we should not be having." So...why are you adding fuel to the fire?

[Droc]

I cant see the comments I made that stated you 'were rude and offensive? Did you selectively removed to pave the way for the above gibberish? Happy new year, this is getting boring.

[1Disawsum]

"Apart from being sarcastic and downright rude, the author shows chilling fears of that doomsday trait that seems to wait for the act so as to justify the fear, sluiced ovver with that final "I wont say I told you so . . . but I did!" " It was you who wrote that, don't you agree? BUT maybe I read it in the wrong context, however your line clearly states "Apart from being sarcastic and downright rude, the author..." so who wouldn't defend themselves, no matter how futile? Surely you would too if that had been written about you.
haha I agree though, but adding fuel to a burning fire won't help you in your case. You're better off commenting on other people's poems and staying away from this one.

Happy New Year, hope all your best dreams and wishes come true. xxx

[Droc]

I appreciate your sentiment, but it is an error to link it to terrorism because of extremeist rhetoric. It is accepted that this peson had no links to any terrorist organisation, and did not claim to be. He was correctly identified as a 'Lone Wolf, and directly related to mental disturbance. This country still remains untouched from Islamic terrorism. If we make the mistake of talking it up, then we talk up the potential for 'copy cat.' and create a fearful society quickly destroying the peaceful layed back attitude to life for which we are associated. It plainly was not a terrorist attack in the context infered, and be seen for wat it was, a mentally disturbed man who tomorrow will likely be claiming to be a born again Christian, or second in line to the Royal Throne.

[1Disawsum]

Yes, true. This person had no link to an organisation, but it was VERY obvious that he, in the most childish way of phrasing words, "wanted" to become a member. He did say "I am a member of the Islamic state". That may not have any substance in it, but... we'll never know.
Well, everyone's already made the mistake of "talking it up". News around the world, social media... everyone knows it, in all countries around the world. Radio stations have talked about it endlessly, the news in Sydney and probably Australia have had a live running segment on it, everything. Everywhere. Copycats are EXPECTED now. Even from the Government officials. It's EXPECTED to happen, another similar event, next year. Extremely likely, and nobody is hiding away from the fact anymore. We all know it, somewhere in our minds, that this event, will be replayed. To be honest, everyone in Sydney is afraid of walking the streets in Martin Place, Parramatta, Cabramatta, Campbelltown, Central even. I live in the Sydney city, and everywhere I go, even down the streets to a shop, I see normal city-sders scared to go in to a shop, scared to stay in there for more than 5 seconds. I see people looking around them, turning around unexpectedly, eyeing suspicious looking people, not even trusting their neighbours. Doors to my friends' houses are locked, when they were ALWAYS open and unlocked. Nobody is acting normally, roaming down the streets. People I see on the streets with children are clutching on to their children's hands, never allowing them out of their eyesight. When I walked down the streets of Martin Place when it was open again, police were walking down the streets. Police cars were parked in a lot of car spaces. Having police there, drills it in. We already LIVE in a FEARFUL society.
Extremist. Asking for the IS flag. Claiming this siege is a message from the Islamic state. Flag in the window. Yeah, nothing fearful about that. People living in Sydney's lives have ALREADY changed. Nothing is the same anymore. Nothing will be the same for a while, a long time to come.

[Droc]

We do not live in a fearful society! The fear is your own. I still travel and sleep with my mobile ome door open while i park near the beach. And yes, it's all over the globe, but it was portrayed wrongly by the media from GO! And sure you can bring up incidents like this, and the massacre inmy quaint homstate of Tasmania, but they are individual events,and so very far remoed from the reality ofour country, and that is we walk the streets in peace, and we sleep in peace, and that is a part of our culture. Thisis not directed at yourself, but it is sad when some within our society (media/poloticions/etc feel the need to seemingly talk up the different situations tojustify the sensalisation of their articles, or governments grabbing the moment to further cement their position and removve our rights. There has yet to be an attack in this country relevant to the issue of global terror. That is what we need to remember.

[1Disawsum]

No, the fear is not my own, thankyou very much haha I told you, I look around, and I have looked around me and my surroundings ever since I could remember. And to be totally honest, I have bigger things to fear for. Like my life, for example. From abuse, from rape, from suicidal thoughts, from Ana and Mia (I don't call them that but... yeah. Popular names)
Maybe it's YOU, but not everyone is YOU. And do you live in Sydney, where the siege HAPPENED? Didn't think so, unless you weren't bothered to change your suburb :)
But yes, it is true. There has yet to be, and hopefully never will be, an attack in this country that is related to terrorism. It is true.

[Droc]

To answer your question, I grew up not far from where Martin Bryant murdered 30 innocent people at Port Aurthur. There is no fear attached to the locals as you describe. One cpuld also explain that within my poetry hides a lifetime of real fear, and the abuse you refer to, and being terrorised in the real life. My ancestors have lived in this country since the first fleet in 1778, I have its interests at heart, and all we hae to fear in this country, is fear itself.This every day hight alert,and talk of security forces and, vunerability of croded places, forget it! And yes, it is all being handled wrong in this country. Let the security agency's do their job while the rest of us enjoy life in the quiet.

This is very presumtious and very unfair tactics, and has annoying tones of sarcasm that does not drive home your arguement.

(Maybe it's YOU, but not everyone is YOU. And do you live in Sydney, where the siege HAPPENED? Didn't think so, unless you weren't bothered to change your suburb :)

[1Disawsum]

The key words in your sentence: NOT FAR FROM. I live IN the city. A 2 minute-5 minute walk to Lindt Cafe. And I work OPPOSITE Martin Place. Trust me, I think I know better than you do. And there is fear right now in the locals, here in the city. 1996. That's 18 years ago. No, the fear in the city right now will, I'm almost sure, be gone in a few months time. Unless the police are correct in saying that they are expecting more extremist or even terrorist actions in the city. They were correct last year in saying that they were 99% sure that they were expecting extremist or terrorist actions in Martin place this year. They were unfortunately correct :/
Maybe forget it NOW, but let's see what happens in the future. No, not really. It's being handled correctly (some of it anyway). The image of tens of thousands of flowers laid out on Martin Place shows you what I mean. Australia uniting as a country, and being as strong as it possibly can be can be seen in the actions of thousands of people.
Don't you get it? It's meant to be sarcasm. I had to be evacuated from my work building, as did others. And the fear that Monis was just a few metres away from the building I was just in hours ago? Yeah, you don't quite seem to understand the fear right there. He could've killed if he wanted to. We were in the open, VULNERABLE.
But for the most of it, I agree with you.