Chez Kieth
See there, that tree is a digging stick
left by the giant woman who was looking
for honey ants;
That rock, a dingo's nose;
There, on that mountain, is the footprint
left by Tjangara on his way to Ulamburra;
Here, the rockhole of Warnampi—very dangerous—
and the cave where the nyi-nyi women escaped
the anger of marapulpa—the spider.
Wati Kutjarra—the two brothers—travelled this way.
There, you can see, one was tired
from too much lovemaking—the mark of his penis
dragging on the ground;
Here, the bodies of the honey ant men
where they crawled from the sand—
no, they are not dead—they keep coming
from the ground, moving toward the water at Warumpi—
it has been like this for many years:
the Dreaming does not end; it is not like the whiteman's way.
What happened once happens again and again.
This is the Law.
This is the power of the Song.
Through the singing we keep everything alive;
through the songs... the spirits keep us alive.
from PASSAGE
—Anonymous (20th century)
Recorded by Billy Marshall-Stoneking
(see Rattlesnake Review #10 for a poem by
Billy Stoneking)
________________________
—Medusa
left by the giant woman who was looking
for honey ants;
That rock, a dingo's nose;
There, on that mountain, is the footprint
left by Tjangara on his way to Ulamburra;
Here, the rockhole of Warnampi—very dangerous—
and the cave where the nyi-nyi women escaped
the anger of marapulpa—the spider.
Wati Kutjarra—the two brothers—travelled this way.
There, you can see, one was tired
from too much lovemaking—the mark of his penis
dragging on the ground;
Here, the bodies of the honey ant men
where they crawled from the sand—
no, they are not dead—they keep coming
from the ground, moving toward the water at Warumpi—
it has been like this for many years:
the Dreaming does not end; it is not like the whiteman's way.
What happened once happens again and again.
This is the Law.
This is the power of the Song.
Through the singing we keep everything alive;
through the songs... the spirits keep us alive.
from PASSAGE
—Anonymous (20th century)
Recorded by Billy Marshall-Stoneking
(see Rattlesnake Review #10 for a poem by
Billy Stoneking)
________________________
—Medusa
