Country
Poetry
The poetry below could be used as a text in English (KLA) that students can explore and respond to, or as a resource to help students understand Aboriginal Peoples' relationship to the land, or to show Aboriginal Peoples' perspectives on issues such as colonisation and land rights.
Do not Go Around the Edges by Daisy Utemorrah (an elder of the Wunambal People). This is a beautifully illustrated poetry anthology aimed at children. It includes both poetry and the story of the author's life.
Butcher Paper Texta Black Board and Chalk by Ruby Hunter is a children's song book (the lyrics can be explored as poetry).
Spiritual Song of the Aborigine by Hyllus Maris
I am a child of the Dreamtime People
Part of this land, like the gnarled gumtree
I am the river, softly singing
Chanting our songs on my way to the sea
My spirit is the dust-devils
Mirages, that dance on the plain
I'm the snow, the wind and the falling rain
I'm part of the rocks and the red desert earth
Red as the blood that flows in my veins
I am eagle, crow and snake that glides
Through the rainforest that clings to the mountainside
I awakened here when the earth was new
There was emu, wombat, kangaroo
No other man of a different hue
I am this land
And this land is me
I am Australia.
Retrieved from http://allpoetry.com/Spiritual-Song-Of-The-Aborigine
The Unhappy Race by Oodgeroo Noonuccal
White fellow, you are the unhappy race.
You alone have left nature and made civilised laws.
You have enslaved yourselves as you enslaved the horse and other wild things.
Why, white man?
Your police lock up your tribe in houses with bars,
We see poor women scrubbing floors of richer women.
Why, white man, why?
You laugh at ‘poor blackfellow’, you say we must be like you.
You say we must leave the old freedom and leisure,
We must be civilised and work for you.
Why, white fellow?
Leave us alone, we don’t want your collars and ties,
We don’t need your routines and compulsions.
We want the old freedom and joy that all things have but you,
Poor white man of the unhappy race.