Poems
First, “Look Back In Time”
A poem by Nola Gregory, Geraldton, WA
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Underneath a pile of history Hidden away from prying eyes We peel back the worn pages To unearth the terrible lies Tormented, abused and treated bad Was a way of life it would seem? But to those that had to suffer it It was ugly and downright mean White Australia has a Black history That has survived the Genocide Even though we suffered greatly Our Culture still lives and thrives The proof stands before all of you Open your eyes, take a look and see Let’s not hide it any longer This shameful past history Exploring our past in the pages That will open if only you let them To learn and heal together A brand new message to send We will listen and share the stories That are packed away in time As we grow and develop together Let our Culture and healing combine We have been part of this Nation For 65,000 plus years We have suffered enormous atrocities That some find hard to believe But if we want to heal this Country First we must look back in time Then gather in the healing circle Hand in hand let us draw the line
Nola explains her poem
"This poem is about accepting and believing that Australia has a dark past some of which is still hidden away in time in archives all over Australia, but if we start peeling back the pages of history and take a look and see, then maybe together we can all gather in the healing circle as one nation and begin to accept and heal the past hurts of a Proud race of people."
Homework: Gathering in the healing circle
Nola says:
"If we start peeling back the pages of history and take a look and see, then maybe together we can all gather in the healing circle as one nation and begin to accept and heal."
- What does Nola mean by "peeling back the pages of history"?
- List a few concrete actions you can take to support this.
- How would it look like for you to "gather in the healing circle"?
- Could you entice others to join you in the circle?
- Describe how a healed nation can look like.