We Are Going Literary Elements

The speaker shifts from a distanced observer to a voice that provides a collective identity for the tribe.

The poem is one stanza written in free verse with varied line lengths.

Metaphors: Using the anaphora "We are," the poet creates a collective identity for the tribe.
-"We are the corroboree and the bora ground" (Line 10)
-"We are the old ceremonies, the laws of the elders" (Line 11)
-"We are the wonder tales of Dream Time, the tribal legends told" (Line 12)
-"We are the past, the hunts and the laughing games, the wandering camp fires" (Line 13)
-"We are the lightening bolt.../ And the Thunderer"(Lines 14 and 16)
-"We are the quiet daybreak..." (Line 17)
-"We are the shadow-ghosts..." (Line 18)
-"We are nature and the past" (Line 19)

Simile
-"Where now the many white men hurry about like ants" (Line 5)
-"We are as strangers here now" (Line 8)

Alliteration
-"A semi-naked band subdued and silent" (Line 2): The "s" sound repeats.
-"We are the old ceremonies, the laws of the elders" (Line 11): The "l" sound repeats

Assonance
-"Rubbish May Be Tipped Here" (Line 6): The "i" sound repeats.
-"the white tribe" (Line 8): The "i" sound repeats.
-"We are the corroboree and the bora ground" (Line 10): The "o" sound repeats.
-"Dream Time, the tribal legends told" (Line 12): The "i"sound repeats.
-"Quick and terrible" (Line 15): The "i"sound repeats.
-"shadow-ghosts" (Line 18): The "o" sound repeats.

The phrase "white tribe" may be used ironically to differentiate the ways in which the two groups (European and Aboriginal) view community. The word "tribe" tends to only be associated with indigenous groups, but it's actually defined as a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.

Postcolonial Poetry, Ecopoetry

This poem is set in modern-day postcolonial Australia, but it also evokes different chronologies before colonization.

Assertive, Somber, Celebratory

The protagonists of this poem are the Aboriginal tribe members, and the antagonists are the British colonizers.

The major conflict of this poem is the impact of colonization that persists to this day, estranging Native Australians from their lands and cultural practices.

The climax of the poem is the final line: "And we are going."

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes "all that remained" of the Aboriginal tribe. This emphasizes the low number of tribe members left, which foreshadows the ongoing estrangement that leads to departure (or erasure) in the final line.

This poem alludes to the British colonization of Australia, which continues to impact Aboriginal lives and alter the landscape.

"White tribe" is used as a metonym for the descendants of British colonizers.

The lightning bolt is personified as being "quick and terrible," and the thunder that follows is referred to as "Thunderer...that loud fellow" (Lines 14-16).