Oodgeroo Noonuccal, commonly known Kath Walker, is an Indigenous writer who inscribes poems to carry aspects of the life of Indigenous people in Australia. The poem “Then and Now” touches the life of the Aboriginal people, mainly the problems they experienced, especially in the areas of culture, tradition and land, but she also reflects on what remains for them as well. This poem clearly explains that “poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language” To begin with, there are many events that Oodgeroo expresses in her poem to refer that “poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language”. The most significant problems experienced by the Aboriginal people that Oodgeroo mentions in the poem was the ruining of their culture, ritual and tradition because of the advent of the Europeans. To illustrate this point, the aboriginal people used the traditional equipment’s such as “woomera” and “boomerang” for hunting and also for entertainment. Now all these native rituals and traditions are vanished …show more content…
She has clearly demonstrated this through the uses of the many effective poetic techniques throughout the poem. To give an example, “Here where they have memorial park. One-time lubrus dug for yams”. What remains here is the memorial park. In the following example, “And where the digeridoo, calling us to dance and play. Offices now, neon lights now”. The places where the Indigenous people get together for “dance and play” are now replaced by “offices and smoke belching factories”. All these examples show how the Indigenous people lived peacefully and simply, but now everything has transformed into the “White way” of living. Hence, the event of what still remains for the Aborigines is a great example to connect to the quote that “poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of