In January 2014 I visited Sardinia because I had been reading about the extraordinary archaeological richness of the island. There are Paleolithic, Megalithic and Bronze Age treasures – of the last the most spectacular being the nuraghe, stone towers built without mortar – and on Sardinia I also stumbled across those marvellous baetyls, small breasted sacred stones.
I am fascinated by our stone and rock heritage all around the world and Sardinia is one of those places that has seen many cultures pass through from prehistory right up to the present.
This poem, about the travels of Agnese and Lupa (lamb and wolf), picks up on those histories. Lupa, the she-wolf is speaking at the beginning.
nuraghe
Agnese and I wander
turn full circle
stare at the megalithic words
breasted baetyls and sickled menhirs
rocks piled in poetic structures
we walk hand in hand
between the lines
disappear behind towering boulders
put our ears to the rocks
listen to the songs
the breath of an iynx says Agnese
a wryneck flies between us
all a-hum
creation’s breath
labyrinthine myths stories
we tread winding paths
a wall a dead end
spiralling through intangible space
retracing we find other pathways
different tales tucked into crevices
here a spinner
here a songster
stories buried by rockfall
by the passage of wind
and time
here walks the old one
a colossal stone
precariously balanced
like a spindle on her head
she walks and knits
purl one plain one
stories cleave in Sardinia
Scotland Malta
where giants built
mother-daughter temples
in Sardinia
words stream down
towering nuraghe
coalesce in swarms
of uncried tears
nuraghe: stone tower
baetyl: Greek: baetylus or baetulus: a sacred stone or pillar
iynx: Greek: wryneck (bird, woodpecker: Jynx torquilla
This poem was first published in my book, Lupa and Lamb (2014) http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/book/id=268/
(Meet Mago Contributor) Susan Hawthorne.