Experimenting with conventions of rhyme, meter and free-verse, this poem (initially published in the Quarantine Quarterly) is a sweeping commentary on the Indigenous struggle in Australia. Themes explored range from discovery, extermination policies, banning of native languages, and civil rights. In putting the environmental dispossession and isolation experienced by Indigenous Australians into a contemporary context, this poem also incorporates global themes such as Climate Change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This poem only features one character: a dying man who ultimately becomes part of his people’s Dreaming. Aside from his character, the role of a character-narrator is present, though subtle. A godlike being narrates. At times this deity references themselves (harking to familiar Christianisms) but retains a level of neutrality. This device is practical, as such a figure would be omniscient or sagacious enough to tell this story as a third party, in a stream-of-consciousness mode.
Utilising assonance, the title is a play on words. “The Conned, Cured Kind”, ergo, The Conquered Kind. Avoiding the use of the word conquered, the title speaks of the failed ambitions to dominate Indigenous Australians. Employing the word cured references the efforts made to move away from formerly normalised, racist notions and/or colonial constructs.
In some shorter stanzas, acting as segues, the poem features excerpts from works by-and pays homage to-Indigenous poets such as Jack Davis, Kath Walker (also known as Oodgeroo Noonuccal) and Lionel Fogarty. Also, scattered throughout this poem are abstract and literal repurposed lines of other works of literature and song lyrics from the likes of Maya Angelou, Jacques Brel, Sarah Brightman, Jimmy Chi, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and William Shakespeare. Reflecting on my own family’s struggles, in the antepenultimate stanza this poem features words from the Waanyi language which loosely translates to: “white man watch out/take notice, in this time you’re equalled/surpassed”, as less a challenge to white dominion and more a declaration of bak reclamation.
*The written version of the poem (as it was originally published) opens with quoted and cited lines from David Bowie's "If You Can See Me" from his The Next Day album. In the recorded version, this clip starts with the last few bars of the song's music. Copyright: SME, on behalf of Columbia Records.
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