THE KEEPER OF THE STONES
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 3:30 pm
THE KEEPER OF THE STONES - Maureen Clifford © The #ScribblyBark Poet
The blood red moon mimicked the colours
of the desert sands.
They too were blood red
where Uluru stood.
A magnificent monolith
whose colours constantly changed
from gold
to red
to deep purple
and now gray ,
streaked with black algae
and white foam
as rushing waters
from rain
bathed the dust from her sides.
The keeper of the stones
sits on the red earth
beneath the shade
of the bloodwood.
He is Anangu.
His spirit ancestors are here.
Their ancient paintings
decorate Uluru with natures colours,
paints made from what the Mother provided.
Ochres,
calcite,
ash
and charcoal mixed with animal fats –
as has been done since the Dreamtime.
The same symbols and paint were used
during sacred ceremonies
to paint their bodies
to represent their Tjukurpa ancestors.
He painted Lungkata the blue tongued lizards.
He painted Kuniya , the woman snake
and Lira, the poison snake
and tjali the honey ant.
His ancestors had painted the same symbols.
He is the keeper of the stones.
He is Anangu.
Uluru stands,
unchanged,
serene,
inscrutable
as she has since the Dreamtime.
The blood red moon mimicked the colours
of the desert sands.
They too were blood red
where Uluru stood.
A magnificent monolith
whose colours constantly changed
from gold
to red
to deep purple
and now gray ,
streaked with black algae
and white foam
as rushing waters
from rain
bathed the dust from her sides.
The keeper of the stones
sits on the red earth
beneath the shade
of the bloodwood.
He is Anangu.
His spirit ancestors are here.
Their ancient paintings
decorate Uluru with natures colours,
paints made from what the Mother provided.
Ochres,
calcite,
ash
and charcoal mixed with animal fats –
as has been done since the Dreamtime.
The same symbols and paint were used
during sacred ceremonies
to paint their bodies
to represent their Tjukurpa ancestors.
He painted Lungkata the blue tongued lizards.
He painted Kuniya , the woman snake
and Lira, the poison snake
and tjali the honey ant.
His ancestors had painted the same symbols.
He is the keeper of the stones.
He is Anangu.
Uluru stands,
unchanged,
serene,
inscrutable
as she has since the Dreamtime.