Nyoongar Warriors/
Yagan’s Song
Daniel Hansen
Looking out over the desert plains,
Waiting patiently for movement on the horizon,
...It's been days,
Since receiving word of pale strangers killing tribesmen.
They've been slaughtering us with loud alien instruments,
That spit hot metal,
With our shields doing very little when they get hit,
Returning warriors by the thousands to the ancestral pool.
While also spreading such foul foreign diseases,
That made the strongest of our hearts so vulnerable,
We've never heard of a war quite like the one we are seeing,
Against an enemy so soulless and cold.
For not only do they kill us in the physical form,
They carelessly trample over sacred land,
Carelessly conquering all things they set their beady little eyes on,
Before burning everything when they disband.
Taking those left and forcing on them a new living,
Teaching them their dreaming is just a dream and nothing more,
Judging us as apes and Neanderthals without any intelligent thinking,
And that we haven't any form of Law.
Pfffffttt....
They underestimate us,
They believe they are superior somehow,
But when they finally come through to attack us,
They will witness the Nyoongar Law and Nyoongar power.
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Daniel Hansen is a Nyoongar poet, musician, consultant, and university student from Ballardong country, born on Whadjuk country. Daniel thoroughly enjoys writing and performing poetry as he feels it connects him with his culture through storytelling. Over the years, he’s used poetry as a tool to overcome anger and mental health issues. While becoming more of an established poet, Daniel has used his platform to promote Nyoongar culture. Currently studying a double degree of theology and philosophy at Notre Dame, Daniel has always had an interest in theology and philosophy, and he feels that it is reflected in his poetry work. Daniel hopes that his studies will help broaden and deepen his understanding of the universe and the way things work. Daniel has three children, who he hasn’t seen in years but that he misses dearly and thinks about every day.