Wednesday 10 December 2014

Shame

                                                 Rock Art, Kakadu National Park

In nineteen sixty seven
As a new Australian
An immigrant no less
Registered to vote
I was now entitled
To say whether
The Aboriginal people
Of this great land
Been here for about
Forty thousand years
Should be given the vote!
Was I proud?


Whiteys came scarcely
Two hundred years ago
“Terra Nullis”
 they said
Empty that is except for
A culture older than theirs
Art telling their history
Stories of their beliefs
A strict rule of law
Education for the young
Dancing to inspire
Songs to weep over
I was shamed

                         
                                       Mother Tree by Mrs Wallace                             


13 comments:

  1. Yes, well. Yes. Apparantly it takes more than humanity to recognize other humans. Compassion. You have it.

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  2. Loved this, Robin. An ancient culture - aboriginal people world wide are the ones who can teach us about living with the land. Julian Lennon participated in a wonderful documentary called Whaledreamer, a gathering of aborginal shamans and wise people in Australia, from all over the earth,. who stood on the banks of an ancient calling place, where they sang to the whales - and the whales came in response, as they did in years of old. Remarkable.

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  3. Wow what Sherry told...I feel also the urgency to correct this historical nonsense. Well written, Robin.

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  4. Sort of reminds me of the Native Americans who were shoved back into the worst places in the states to reside.

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  5. The veneers get fancier, but it's the same system we've had since caveman days: conquer someone else and lay down the rules. I like to think we're finally getting better as a species, but it's probably just better propaganda.

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  6. Nicely pointed out the naked truth of our so called civilization!

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  7. As a fellow Aussie, I know just what you mean! Pretty disgusting, eh?

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  8. Sometimes humanity needs to come down a peg or two to realise that it isn't what it claims to be...thank you for reminding us of that...quietly quietly what is truly human is seen and acknowledged by those special people who care ;)

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  9. Better to feel the shame than to be so shameless.

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  10. your lines reflect the truth so well..

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  11. Aborigines were classified as flora and fauna before they were given the vote. Nice painting !

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  12. thank you Oldegg for this honest work. am glad that you wrote from the heart.

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  13. A powerful statement Robin. I think it is the gentle types that get ramrodded by the ones who seem to outclass the other.
    The aboriginal people so talented how could man not see ???

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