Analysis and poetic devices in the poem Unmarked Grave by Joan Crate?

Answer 1

Sentence 1: “There is no stone, no word or prayer to mark Our fleet lives, our staggering deaths.”

Instantly you get captured by a sense of nihilism, you can feel the impending doom and the inevitability of life that grabs the attention of any mere mortal who reads this. Joan uses a capitalized “Our” which becomes of theme in this poem, in this case she deliberately uses grammar to express a collective group of something (presumably, but not explicitly, a group of people) without actually adding words to the poem. Words such as “fleet” and “staggering” create vivid sensory images that add to the nihilistic tone. 

Sentence 2: “Everything We were is bound in silence, buried under dark White plots.”

Again, we see a capitalized royal “We” that indicates a collective of some sort. This line is telling us that a group has been “bound in silence”, covered up and repressed is the image that comes to mind when reading the first half of the sentence. The second half of the sentence indicates where the collective “We” are bound, which is “under dark White plots”. We see the capitalization of “White” which I take to mean another group of people, and plots is not to be taken literally as buried under a plot of land but instead by plots in a deceitful and dishonest sense”. Joan is not telling us literally where a bound group of people are buried, but rather who is doing the metaphorical burying and binding, and that who is the White Man, beneath plots in a political sense rather than a physical sense.

Sentence 3: “We mourn absences: budding Springs, Summer seed, forests full of god and meat, Our bullet and virus bones, stripped of light.”

This sentence reveals a lot about who the collective “We” are in the first two sentences. Both god and bullets are innately human concepts, which narrows down who the capitalized “Our” is collectively refereeing to as human. We can also deduce that this group has a deep connection with nature, the capitalization of Spring and Summer indicates a sense of reverence for nature. “Our bullet and virus bones, stripped of light” is a unique choice of words, virus in particular. I honestly can not figure out the choice of the word virus, maybe im missing a nuance or metaphor. That said, “Stripped of light” is the stripping of “innocence” for which light is metaphorically designed to represent. At this stage of the poem I comfortable deduce that the author is speaking for the perspective of the collective native people.

Sentence 4: “Babies suckle, nothing but curse to eat.”

This line is comparatively short, blunt and brutal in its wording. It feels almost spit out, contemptuously. Like crashing drum interrupting an orchestra, but yet somehow complementing the tune being played. 

Sentence 5: “Their mouths hungry for repair, bleeding bite The soil – stolen – their flesh, futures, rage Beneath cold contempt and new subdivisions Of greed.”

Joan uses the word “Their”, indicating something other than the “Our” and “We” previously used. In the first line whoever “Their” are, perhaps the White Man, take a bite of “The soil”. “The” is capitalized, showing that the bite that was taken was of the Native land, and upon this native land is the White man whose flesh and futures are built on a foundation of rage and “cold contempt”.

Sentence 6: “We languish in sorrow and dirt, betrayed.”

 At this point Joan has established a rhythm in the varying lengths of her sentences, in they way they are arranged.  “We languish in sorrow and dirt” are the indigenous people reduced to poverty, betrayed by the White man who have impoverished them. 

Sentence 7: “Stake me with fences, b******t, provisions Of guilt, Weed n’ Feed.”

We can infer that the “me” refers to either an individual indigenous person or the collective whole made reference to before, it could be either as the “me” is not capitalized. I take “fences” to mean reserves and/or residential schools, the isolation of the indigenous people. “B******t” is all the lies and manipulation deployed against them, the “White plots” referred to in the second line. “Provisions Of guilt” has a capitalized “Of”, which im not totally clear on why at this point, however it must be deliberate as Joan’s use of capitulation has been very precise this far. I would guess it is the collective “Pity” expressed by certain non-indigenoues groups, almost looking down the native peoples with supposed “guilt”.

Sentence 8: “I am silence crowing, Broken wings soaring, language beyond there knowing.”

I detect a subtle change in mood in this last sentence, I got a tone of vindication and even vengeance. “I am silence crowing,” represents the growing voice of the indigenous people on the international stage. “Broken wings soaring” with the capitalization of “Broken” represent a once broken people getting back up and learning to fly once again. “Language beyond their knowing” is where the sense of vindication comes from, a hidden gem unknown to “them,” the White plotters.

Answer 2

"Unmarked Grave" by Joan Crate explores themes of loss, memory, and the passage of time. The poet uses vivid imagery and metaphor to evoke a sense of mystery and reflection. The poem's structure is fragmented, mirroring the fragmented memories of the speaker as they grapple with the legacy of an unmarked grave.