Jack Davis

...

to be taken care of, loved and protected. This poem gives the indigenous perspective on the cultural importance of the land. “Soft, as a butterfly’s wing” compares the land to a fragile insect and this creates a vivid and effective visual image, evoking emotion. It highlights the appreciation indigenous people have on the land and acknowledge its fragility. “Her loveliness is summer red, pink, fading gold as mother sun sinks to fold herself in a cloak of night”. This part of the poem uses metaphor. The sun is the mother making it give a strong, beautiful and vibrant aura. This emphasises the strength and beauty of the natural land. Davis depicts the land as having human features as it’s conscious, alive and has feelings. This metaphor emphasizes Jack Davis’ appreciation and adoration he has of the land. The symbolism used in this poem is colour as the colours mentioned are associated with the sunset which links to natural beauty. This adds visual image to the words making it more vivid and meaningful. The visual image of the land is blanketed by the night sky. Similar ideas of human qualities give a sense of life and states that Indigenous people have a strong spiritual connection to their land. “Embossed with the light of stars from a black nation’s dreamtime” shows imagery as the stars highlight the land and it’s beautiful features. The effect evokes a striking image even though it’s night, standing out in the night which gives a sense of glowing.

Both poems are effective as the two poems succeed in achieving the poet’s purpose. ‘The First-Born’ was able to show the reader how much the land meant to Jack Davis by using language techniques and figurative language such as imagery, personification, rhetorical questions, alliteration, repetition and simile. The poem ‘Land’ was able to show the reader the beauty of land and the strong spiritual connection Indigenous people have with the land. The poet conveys this by using figurative language to appeal to the five senses such as; tone, personification, simile, metaphor and imagery. Both of these poems highlight how Jack Davis’ poetry captures the unique Aboriginal relationship with the land.