“Every colonised people – in other words, every people in whose soul an inferiority complex has been created by the death and burial of its local cultural originality – finds itself face to face with the language of the civilising nation . . . ” Franz Fanon

Lionel Fogarty’s poetry is his response to this language genocide.  “He writes in a manner which is the response of an Aboriginal songman against the genocide inflicted on his language and the tyranny imposed on him by a foreign language”  Mudrooroo.

Bungoo Bungoo by Lionel G Fogarty

Models are not derived from books
Now this is untrue, got nowhere to go.
Give me money, so incidents may
come to life
I will masquerade as a poetic
deep and abiding in black oppression
Give me money, so I can travel over this
Give us money so we can see and hear.
Our Aboriginal human race
want bungoo . . .
Utilised how can I write
staying one place, at home
knowing i write for Australians
native and white.
Give me money for my works minds
Priced on lives
and dressed in peace
You will rip my justice apart
Con your promises
Brings us nothing.
When crippling writer write
you look to jump over them, hey
Poet haters told to shut us up
Poet, me lovers told to shut up
Me so low in money.
Ne we are forced into dumps
where money are nations.
Nations are turned to face
money.
But our struggle will bring life.
Help me rich
or give money
you money faced opposition.
I just want more to give more . . .
He is deprived of money
Will you give some paper junta
to help a poor father
with seven children
at home
writing about you and his people
Thanks for nulla, nulla . . .
Meaning in this is money.
Junga.

Lionel G. Fogarty from New and Selected Poems Munaldjali, Mutuerjaraera, Hyland House 1995