Stark,
red,
sacred
site.

Each grain of sandstone
breathes and echoes the Creation time.

Tjukurpa,

a time that is past, present, and future;
that is neither imaginary, nor fleeting.

Tjukurpa,

the law
that rules relations between people, plants, animals, and the land.

A timeless web of stories is
imprinted in the fissures of this ancient rock.

Here, the blue-tongued lizard man
fell to his death,
punished for stealing another’s prey.

There lived the Willy Wagtail Woman, whose cave has the shape of a smile.

At Mutitjulu,
serpents fought to the death.
Kuniya the python avenged her nephew,
slaying the venomous Liru.

You can still feel the snake energy
in this arid place
where spindly gum trees sway in the wind
and branches lie scattered like pick-up sticks.

Mulga bushes and desert oaks.

A vivid green that is unexpected here
in the middle of the desert.

Why climb Uluru?
Why go against the Anangu,
who ask us to respect this place of initiation?

The legends,
the spirits,
the ancestors
will take you where you need to go.

Look and listen.
Stay connected.

Nature itself
anchors our ascension.

Our spiritual ascension.

Why climb Uluru?

Copyright © 2010 Annette Gartland