Life Cycles
By Josefine P
Superb fairy-wrens darting between sacred auburn arkose rhapsodically,
Verdant spinifex skin enveloping multifarious offspring in blissfulness,
Indigenous robins, honeyeaters, residing in maternal mulga arms,
“Wiru* tjitji*” Uluru winds whisper, echoing Ngunytju’s* voice in etherealness.
Murray’s arteries enlarging, ventricular blood erupting like magma,
Serpent-like flames slithering, maliciously igniting surrounds,
Ancient red gums shrilling, smoke billowing amongst embers in belligerence,
Ngayawang* ancestral cries drowned in silence, their people lost amidst deafening sounds.
Emerald jewels emerging from ash, seemingly dormant bodies of eucalyptus unveiling life,
Gang-gang’s crimson-grey feathery arches, immersed in canvases of blue-green wonder,
Sheoak memory vaults, now lost, coveting tribal generational stories,
Kabi Kabi “bonyi*” seed pods patiently waiting, hopeful for the eternal life cycle. “Wunya*”.
*Wiru - Anangu/Pitjantjatjara word for beautiful
*Tjitji - Anangu/Pitjantjatjara word for children
*Ngunytju - Anangu/Pitjantjatjara word for mother
*people of the western Riverland area of South Australia
*bonyi - Kabi Kabi word for Bunya Pine
*Wunya - Kabi Kabi word for ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’ and ‘welcome’
Source for Pitjantjatjara language words: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/national-parks/uluru-kata-tjuta-national-park/culture-and-history/anangu-language
Source for Kabi Kabi language words: https://gubbigubbidyungungoo.com/gubbi-gubbi-language/