In recent times, I have been experimenting with my poems as far as their thematic bond whenever a demand was in place. The year of 2018 alone has now seen my poetry in connection with one another. The latest example are my three poems below, all of which will appear in the July issue of the international anthology, The Year of the Poet made available in print to readers every month. This month’s focal civilization was “Oceania”, and the following poetic narrative is what dictated my contribution:
entitled, 1
does the name “Cook” James Cook
as in Captain James Cook that is
sound familiar to you
no, you say?
how can that be!
he has a monument in his name you see
for the monumental service he has done in 1774
he proudly did vandalize torture butcher and colonize
the natives of Vanuatu Islands of 500 BCE
whitened them ever so graciously with a new name
The New Hebrides . . .
you get it of course
there was nothing “new” about the host-land
up until that year ambushed it mercilessly
then . . . there were no more
the same as they were before
the white legacy
isn’t it just grand?
entitled, 2
Kudos to the British!
they worked also 19th century
to their advantage
they took home the bounty
yet once again
the poor unknowing Spanish!
a rushed glimpse of the Tuvalu islands
did not suffice to make them stay
Alas!
they thus failed to discover
the land’s richness in phosphate
mined by the islanders
profits fed-exed to the Commonwealth
entitled, 3
there once was an island called “Nauru”
1,400 people lived on it in peace
they spoke their native tongue
they had their native culture
phosphate was in abundance . . .
the year was 1843 then
45 years later
only 900 survived
together with their phosphate
their language and culture?
out the window they went . . .
© hülya n yılmaz, June 15, 2018
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Related Links/Readings:
Vanuatu.History.People.Location
Tuvalu.Culture.History.People.Facts
Nauru.Land.People.Culture.Economy.Society.History
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