Journeys- Bruce Dawe

As a teenager living in an ever-changing society, a journey is bound to happen either emotionally, physically or mentally. At any point in a persons lifetime, one may go through a journey- whether that journey takes place at a certain time or place, stemmed from a decision or the journey of ones existing lifetime. No matter what or whom, journeys are bound to change us and are inevitable. They offer us development and growth as individuals as well as altering the way we think, act or talk. This can be obtained through overcoming obstacles, achieving goals, anything really that ee encounter during a journey.We often register change as something dangerous, yet we still try our futile attempts at resisting change but at the end of it all, you yourself as a human being would have changed in either a positive or negative way. Bruce Dawe's poems, "drifters" and "migrants" emphasis on the emotional aspect of physical journeys where it is tied to the attitudes towards journey (s), the compassion in the journey, overcoming obstacles and fulfilling the desire of destination. Bruce Dawe uses language techniques such as imagery, colloquialism, tone and repetition to convey and highlight some specific aspects of physical journey(s).

Fg The poem "drifters" is about an itinerant family who are forced to move from one place to another due to their economical needs and are shown to never be in one place long enough to settle down. The title "drifters" is enough to give the readers and insight of what he poem is about. The title indicates what the family does - drifting from one place to another. Dawe uses imagery in the title to portray that their work influences or dictates where they go - a forced journey. Using imagery, Dawe has portrayed an inevitable journey that the family has taken, and the aspect of a physical journey of moving from one place to another.

Throughout the poem, Dawe utilises the technique of writing in third person. In doing so, he has established a