When a man with enough bravery is willing to risk his life for his country you would think they would be given respect and approval from people fighting with him. For many Canadian First Nations who fought for the British empire in WWI this is not the case. Laforme’s message throughout the poem was to acknowledge the government's biasness to the white people when back from WWI. Laforme expresses his love for his fellow soldiers that he fought alongside; when the soldiers got back from war they were treated unfairly.
Oh, we still stood shoulder to shoulder in the parades, but the government thought that your life was more valuable than mine
So you were given land property, while I waited and waited (Laforme, I Love this Land)
This quote talks about how they were equal in the war; standing “shoulder to shoulder” but now that they are back home the other people are more important than Laforme. The word “valuable” is used here as if the other people in the war were above him or more predominant. “So you were given land property, while I waited and waited” The comma in the middle of the line is used as a caesara; this pause allows for the reader to notice discriminatory act that the govrnment would do to the minority. “while I waited and waited '' This repetition allows you to recognize the unethical behavior from the government that frustrated Laforme; without “waited” being repeated it would not show his exasperation. Maybe this poem isn’t supposed to be seen as racist or unfair; in 1914 that was normalized and Laforme was used to being treated wrongly. What if he was just telling his experience throughout his time as a soldier. When Laforme was writing this poem in 1918 he wrote about his experience in the war, after the war and how he was treated in both.
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