He crouches, and buries his face on his knees,
And hides in the dark of his hair;
For he cannot look up to the storm-smitten trees,
Or think of the loneliness there -
Of the loss and the loneliness there.
The wallaroos grope through the tufts of the grass,
And turn to their coverts for fear;
But he sits in the ashes and lets them pass
Where the boomerangs sleep with the spear -
With the nullah, the sling and the spear.
Uloola, behold him! The thunder that breaks
On the tops of the rocks with the rain,
And the wind which drives up with the salt of the lakes,
Have made him a hunter again -
A hunter and fisher again.
For his eyes have been full with a smouldering thought;
But he dreams of the hunts of yore,
And of foes that he sought, and of fights that he fought
With those who will battle no more -
Who will go to the battle no more.
It is well that the water which tumbles and fills
Goes moaning and moaning along;
For an echo rolls out from the sides of the hills,
And he starts at a wonderful song -
At the sound of a wonderful song.
And he sees through the rents of the scattering fogs
The corroboree warlike and grim,
And the lubra who sat by the fire on the logs,
To watch, like a mourner, for him -
Like a mother and mourner for him.
Will he go in his sleep from these desolate lands,
Like a chief, to the rest of his race,
With the honey-voiced woman who beckons and stands,
And gleams like a dream in his face -
Like a marvellous dream in his face?
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Comments
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The interbet search tells ne nulklah is a steep sided gulley/ravine with a stream in it. It is also an aboriginal club.
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide as well as an animal cross between a wallaby and a kangaroo.
It is amazing what you can find if you do a little bit of personal research!
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The Last of His Tribe by Henry Kendall
From guest Lorraine (contact)
This is a very beautiful poem and bring tears to the eyes and lumps to the throat. I have just discovered this site, it's awesome. Congratulations. Lorraine -
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As far as I can work it out Uloola is an aboriginal word for the sun and comes from a region SW of Sydney. Uloola Falls is at Latitude 34° 6′ 30.96"S Longitude 151° 2′ 16.8"E
Jim
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Question
From guest Yo dude (contact)
What is the main image of this poem?
MOD MESSAGE
Please read the comments below this one!
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hey
From guest TIarna (contact)
how do i analyse this poem
MOD MESSAGE
Read the poem
Think of when it was written
Think of where it was written
Think of the people who lived there
Think of who it was written about and what was happening to his people
Read the writers biography
Think of his connection with the subject
Think how you would feel as the subject
Think how you would feel as the writer
Read more that the writer has written
Read more on the same subject. -
waiting
From guest Justine (contact)
MOD MESSAGE
As are we waiting for a please or thank you! http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1492 -
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For Justine.
I have already answered this query below, please take the time to check before 'waiting' any longer. Von - Oldpoetry
WE DO NOT SEND EMAILS ,read the link on your note above.
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question
From guest Justine (contact)
Will he go in his sleep from these desolate lands, Like a chief, to the rest of his race, With the honey-voiced woman who beckons and stands, And gleams like a dream in his face - Like a marvellous dream in his face? What does it mean? -
questions
From guest Justine (contact)
Can you tell me what this poem means? Why are there repetitions? What techniques like personification did he use? -
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for Justine
Before asking please, please read any comments below each poem, they can be an inexaustable well of information - as is the case for this poem. Read on>>>>
Von - Oldpoetry Team
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Question
From guest Justine (contact)
Why did he write this poem? I'm curious. Nice background page. -
Henry Kendall is a master of the musical poem. This is a fine example of his ability to create music with only the words.
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In answer to questions from both Tiarna Robertson and Alyce:
Line 11 -Uloola: This is the name of Dreamtime God - God of Thunder
Line 17 - Yore: - the long distant past.
Line 18 - Foes: - Tribal Enemies
I hope this helps.
Von - Oldpoetry Team
Read my comment below for more informations -
What does foe, yore and uloola mean?
From guest Tiarna Robertson (contact)
What does Uloola, Foe and Yore mean in this Poem????? -
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for guest Alyce
'Uloola' is the name of a place in New South Wales famous for its rich countryside and beautiful waterfall. However, in this poem the Aboriginal man is
invoking Uloola, a Dreamtime God. He is asking Uloola, to take notice of him, the thunderstorm, of which the man is aware, is rekindling the long forgotten memories of his life within the tribe. Akin to religions across the globe that call on their God when they need help.
Kendal spent many years living with Aboriginal people and learned many of their ways so therefore has a much better understanding of their way of life than most non Aboriginal people.
I hope this helps you Alyce. Von ~ Oldpoetry Team
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please answer
From guest eryn (contact)
what does this poem really mean.what is its point and purpose and what feelings came with this poem
MOD MESSAGE
Did you not read the comment under this Eryn? Put yourself in the subjects place and think how you would feel. Compare how you think with how the poem's subject feels. -
anon smith
for anon smth
The volunteer staff of Oldpoetry are not able to do homework or assignments but we suggest that in order to have your questions answered, please read the comments by others, re-read the poem and if you are an Australian check out your history books or online. Kendall himself spent a lot of time with both Aboriginals of Australia and the New Zealand Moari in order to understand their culture, over years of hard work and dedication. It won't take you any where near that long to do some research - you will probably enjoy the rewards much better.
Regards, Von - Oldpoetry -
please answer
From guest anon smith (contact)
Describe some of the fond memories this last man of his tribe has. Why will he go to battle no more? Why do you think he is 'hiding in the dark of his hair? What do oyu think he is waiting for? What do you think Henry Kendall's attitude to the Aboriginal people was? Was this typical of the time Kendall lived? -
Henry Kendall
From guest Darkkat (contact)
This poem is powerful in many ways, but does anyone really know what this means and how Hnenry was feeling when he wrote it? -
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A sad and sombre poem that is even more poignant now than when it was written, now that much of that way of life is irretrievably lost.
Kendall did well in understanding and recording what was happening in the clash of cultures that destroyed the aboriginal way of life. -
This poem reached the soul. The Old Man in a time of reflection of the old ways now realises that they are no more, he grieves, recalls, but his heart is heavy and he waits for death where once again he can be young and strong. Marvellous piece of story telling.
With respect
Vonnie -
This well written rhymed and rhythmical poem is one of Henry Kendall's best poem about Aborigines. The poem through a nightmarishing Dreamtime narrates how one-man had survived after a cruel battle among two different tribes which had fought for their survival rights of territory. The Aborigine is leaning among his knees within his lonliness of Solitude. During his nightmarish dream all his past life comes back and goes through his ancestral rooted living.He will never again hunt the wallaroos which freely jump now because his weapoon lay down abandoned. His invocation to Uloola is useless because he will never taste the breathless emotion of hunting again. He is only waiting Death to come as the honey-voiced lubra appears through the fog of the warlike corroboree as if she was already mourning over his corpse while he is already thinking about that paradisiacal marvellous land of his forefathers'Dreamtime.
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This is both beautiful and sad. It's a poem that stays with you after you have read it.
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A very wonderful poem on our aboriginal Legends, being australian myself I can relate to the words on this poem, I came her to find this particular poem for a friend, thanks to Von who found it for me. I will be back to read more of his works, especially the "Blue Hills" series~angelica
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Joan, I have deleted the copy/paste plagiarised comment from this poem which was 'taken' from your own comment. Von
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Thank You Von, it makes me wonder why they chose mine. At least it got me back to Oldpoetry which I haven't visited in a long while.
Joan
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