Lament for the Lead beater’s Possum
WRONG WAY GO BACK
SHRIEK in the darkness
shout at dawn
scream in morning
when wheels churn
engines whine
to snarling saw
as timbers crash
on Toolangi’s floor
Shout in parliament
scream in the street
OUR HOMES ARE TRASHED
for us no retreat
Lead beater’s screeches
blood-curdling appeal
for the life of its habitat
dragged off to the mill
voiceless to lawmaker
or forest official
no recourse to a law that
allows logging at will
Our blood is the mud
of hillside and gully
collecting in pools
as waterways sully
torn from the tree-tops
smashed to the earth
there is no returning
procreation rebirth
Shout in parliament
scream in the street
OUR HOMELAND’S DESTROYED
for us no retreat.
Catherine m Barnard © July 2011