Times change and so do cultures, sometimes people get expose to a new culture and get to drop theirs as they get themselves acculturated to others which seem better or more unifying. Such is the case that happens in present day society where popular culture appears to override traditional indigenous cultures of different societies from across the world. That is mainly reflected in the poem Unearthed, which is written by Ali Cobby Eckermann. The main theme presented in this poem is focused on the maltreatment of the native Aboriginal people of Australia. That is especially seen through the poetic device such as imagery, language and a structured theme to show how the speaker of the poem is grieved by the happenings in his society. Looking at this poem gives the reader a clear indication that the section of the population that the speaker represents is not at all happy about the conflicting cultures that have suppressed one and almost wiping it out of existence.
Through the language used by the poet, it is evident enough to note that the speaker and the people he or she represents are mourning and lamenting about some violations that have been meted on them. It is for that reason that there is a call for the people to join in arms especially when the poet says, “let’s dig up the soil and excavate the past/ breathe life into the bodies of our ancestors” (line 1- 2). The poet goes on to call for the excavation of holes in their minds as a pointer to what the Australian society has kept doing to these people who have been robbed of their history and heritage. In fact, the poem is a call for mass action intended to call for the recognition of Aboriginals. At the mention of boomerangs (line 4), which are Aboriginal war weapons then it only means that there is a need for mass action for their rights to be respected.
The poet uses various images to paint a picture of the harsh road travelled by Aboriginals and the past that means so much to them. Digging up the soil and excavating the past, is symbolic of people going back in time and remembering what life was like before modernism arrived in the country as well as the events that took place as their ancestors fought it. The situation is no longer as pleasant as it ought to be as seen through the image of a noisy Poinciana tree (line 5). That tree is one of a kind that is flamboyant and is often grown as an ornamental plant. The poet uses it in this poem as a way of announcing to the readers that the situation in Australia might seem calm and collected, but the events that are taking place are rattling the inner feelings of the Aboriginals, and their patience is being tested. Perhaps another image that shows the furry if the people is “dust storms (line 9). They are not the most comfortable occurrence for they cause a disturbance. That is what is looming in the poem, that the people will go up in arms and cause a disturbance when they call for the rest of the society to acknowledge and respect their rights.
The poem takes a postmodernist approach into highlighting the problems faced by the Aboriginals. The poet asks his audience to go back into the past and bring out a little bit of what used to exist a long time ago. The ancestors who happen to hold the real values and traditions of the people are dead and gone and so is their culture. There is a call for all like-minded people to overcome dread and reclaim their past, tradition and history. But more importantly, the poet delves into the colonial discourse and continuing conflicts that were propagated by the Australian government. This is a poem of “voice and opinion” (Harrison, 1997). It echoes the happenings of post-modernist Australia; a country that has a people with deep rooted resentment against each other, especially the Aboriginals and it passes for a historical reflection of some of the problems the country has grappled with for a very long time.
The title of the poem lingers in between life and death, and it also captures the central theme of the poem. There is a call for the Aboriginal people to go back to their culture, tradition and heritage even if it means that they have to use force to make society acknowledge and respect them. The poem addresses the issues faced by the Aboriginals and the way they have been marginalized in the Australian society for a very long time. That is especially true considering the tone and language used by the poet in calling for his fellow Aboriginals to demonstrate that all is not well with them. They seem to be losing their breath and legacy (line 15), as their kin keep dying without ever achieving any tangible results concerning their independence, autonomy, and respect for their national rights
References
Eckermann, A. C. (2015). Unearthed. Too Afraid to Die. PDF File
Harrison, M. (1997). “Land and Theory.” Southerly, Vol. 57, No. 2
