A response to Saved by Jon Jonassen
You have come into our country
You have come for your own country
You have let us keep our custom
You have let us keep our language
You haven't changed us much
You have taught us your ways
You have taught us your customs
You have taught us your language
You haven't changed us much
You have promised us our freedom
You have loved us
You have made us loved you
You have our loyalty
You have our soldiers to help you fight the Japanese
You haven't changed us that much
We believed in you
We died for you
We fought for you
We loved you unconditionally
But you turned your back on us
You have betrayed us
You have ruined our friendship
You have given our freedom to another
You gave up on us
You let us suffer when you left
You let our people died
Now you have blood of my people in your hand
You haven't changed us that much
You have given the power to another
They treat us like animals
They take away our land
They take away our homes
They take our children and women
They then rape and kill our women
They also take our men
They take us to be porters
They turn us into slavery
They beat me and my people
Our people keep dying
You haven't changed us that much
You have come into our country
You have come for your own country
You let us keep our custom
You let us keep our language
When you left us with another
You have changed us in the most unimaginable way
So on behalf of my people
I have a message to you
When you were in our country
You promised my people
That you will give us freedom
You taught us your ways
We have loved you
We fought for you
We died for you
But we curse you when you left
For you have caused us to cry tears
For our women and our people
Hi Diana,
ReplyDeleteThis is a powerful work, expressing anger and pain, and also determination, refusal to be subsumed. It has a universal resonance across the Pacific, including island nations like Kiribati and on into the North Pacific territories in Micronesia where battles were fought in WW2, and atomic bomb tests devastated whole islands.
Craft wise, it has a polemic sense to it, because of the close-coupling of first (I) and second person (You), with the proximity between narrator and reader (to stand in for the forces of colonialist invasion) closed right down to millimeters. This gives it a deep intensity.
Hi, Diana,
ReplyDeleteThe poem gives a feeling of anger. "We" have been cheated many times and "you" are always doing the same time to time in order to control "our" land, never feeling ashamed.
People in the world are equal, because they are the same human being. But, because of your inherited power, you conquer our country and force us to obey you as a slave. "You" throw out the "promised benefit" to attract our innocent people, exploit our labor and our lives. So, our relationship is no longer equal any more, you are the ruler and we are servants, which is against the rule of nature, so, "we" are angry.
This poem seems like an eruption of the long accumulated anger, while the real meaning is that colonization in the area has cause people's furious reactions.
This kind of writing is also quite easy to understand for the readers.
Hi Dee Dee, your poem is so intense. It so emotional and all of it seems to be coming from the deepest core of your being. I enjoy reading it because I can sense many things from trust, friendship, becoming a shield, and then betrayal. I can also sense regret and asking for justice even though it is not more noticeable than other emotions portrayed in your poem. I believe that this poem will be as good as written if presented orally but more powerful. The audience will see your gestures, anger, suffering and the sense of justice and gives a greater impact to people. A poem marked in people's mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this poem is intense and very effective. You communicate very freely here. I enjoyed it and feel it ties in very well with many of the themes and ideas under discussion on this paper, well done :)
ReplyDelete