by John Carroll
Ancient sandhills
Language: English
Ancient sandhills Brought us there Created in the Desert Eons ago Formed as a Great wall on the Horizon Intersecting our sense of the Just with another Karma Less human but More Noble Or Perhaps more Quiescent than Recent Homo Sapiens Tells . . At the grey walls Built like a City long ago Destroyed the Ephemeral Forms on the Ground Held Insights in their Jagged Kabbalistic Lettering . . Attempting to understand we stopped By the sand hills and Centred ourselves trying to Discern the Eternal From our car radio we played Great sounds of an orchestra Hovering over a land In our minds . . A lake of lost water Broken in the Clear Desert Explaining nothing . . Archaeologists found evidence of Burials here Cremated bones with a Deposit of red ochre Evidence of the Fire of ceremony Gatherings where Humanity saw Itself in Joint awe Kinship and Love . . A Bugle Call Denotes the Exit of Fire Gone on the Horizon . . A stone circle Built by my ancestors Circling Destiny Echoing Far sky a . Great wall Here Inspired by no Joint Knowledge no Love no Meaning Nothing . Only a Presence . . Approaching a memorial Built by no one Calls for a Decorum to . Enter where Faith is in the Ground where Humans lie In which past Joys are laid as a Keel in the earth’s Long Motion into Night
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by John Carroll , "Lake Mungo" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Clare Maclean (b. 1958), "Let all mortal flesh keep silence", 1984/2012, first performed 2012 [ bass and string quartet ], Australian Music Centre
Publisher: Australian Music Centre [external link]  [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-09-05
Line count: 113
Word count: 240