Splintered, pixelakrified, beaten,
I remembered to walk
on Kaarta Gar-up.
Then, I remembered beauty
and then I remembered love…..
Strangers made this place
for me. I am held.
Amongst the Balga and Biara I invoke the name of Whadjuk;
within the sculpted gardens and carved places of reflection I invoke the name of Wadjella;
feeling the gaze of the rising sun and the Moorda mists I invoke the name of God and Waugal.
I am held;
the love of strangers, who gave me this walk,
floats in the air.
I breathe.
I give thanks.
******************
MEANINGS
Words I had to invent:
Pixelakrified: (Pixel-akri-fied): the effect on the brain and soul of being pierced by billions of pixels. A common condition of the early Information Age, caused by careless overuse of screens.
Whadjuk-Nyoongar words
Kaarta Garup: Kings Park. Seemingly from kaarta (hills) gar (spiders – also kar) –up (place of). (Also known as Karra Katta – hill of spiders, or Geenunginy Bo – the place for looking a long way)
Whadjuk: The tribal or clan name of Nyoongar/Bibullmen people who cared for the land and waters around Kaarta Gar-up for millenia.
Wadjella: We who came from other lands, and (without permission) made the country of the Whadjuk people our home.
Balga: Grass Tree
Biara: Banksia
Moorda: Darling escarpment
Waugal: The rainbow serpent – creation spirit and giver of life.
Tim Muirhead
June 15, 2014
