An ode to Ikara – Flinders Ranges.

Ikara – Flinders Ranges.

Ancient land

Of deep red and orange rock

The aeons evidenced

In compressed diagonal layers.

Wilpena Pound.

A mammoth ring of

Monolithic mountains

Of glittering quartzite and iron oxide earth

Of shale and rippling limestone

From the bottom of the sea.

Ikara – meeting place.

Home of a spiritual people

Who have morphed with the land.

Whose Dreaming story of sacred serpents

Captures the visitor’s imagination

But means so much more to them.

How has life continued here?

When the sun bakes the soil,

When the trees are cleared

For foreign crops and grazing,

When the indigenous people

Are made to work in chains?

It’s hard to know. But it has.

Nature is resilient and humans adapt.

Ikara. Meeting place.

Where the sea is long gone

And blazing cliffs reflect the sun

Where silver-green bushes sprout from stone

And massive gum trees

Replenish their roots in flowing streams.

Rain comes

Filling cracks, creeks and catchments,

Giving life to the soil,

Restoring hope to the people.

Insects burst into flight

Birds and reptiles feast.

Nature’s palette expands

Adding purples, yellows, greens.

Wisdom is gained

And a peace is restored.

In this sacred place

Where the Dreaming goes on

And ancient earth reaches up and meets the sky.