Stop the damn Mary River Dam
John Tomlinson
20 October 2006
Mary River - childhood home
Ive seen your banks eroding
watched farmers plough your loam
now theres a dark foreboding
because of the pending dam,
which will block your waters,
the gentle waters where I swam.
Its going to dislodge farmers
force families from their land.
Lets stop the political charmers.
Struggling farmers need a hand.
Mary River you once flowed free
from Boorumba to the sea.
You are a very scenic river;
to drought and flood youre prone
Ive surveyed your raging torrents
and observed you dry as a bone.
Ive watched your Lungfish playing
and caught your Eastern Cod.
admired the Black Ducks flying
whilst on your banks I stood.
Ive waded in your waters,
fished Mullet at the overflow
and in floods of 55
nearly drowned in your undertow.
Ive eaten your Silver Catfish
devoured your Eel Tailed Jew
and watched drought-breaking rains
make you flow anew.
Lungfish are totally protected
except from these dam engineers
safe for 150 million years
but not from political careers.
They claim they need your water
to flush down sewerage mains
to build more concrete jungles;
I wish theyd use their brains.
Theyll kill the mighty Lungfish,
devastate the Eastern Cod
theyve the hide to call it progress
cause Mammon is their God.
It is environmental willfulness
as they reap so shall they sow
the destruction they will cause means
that these politicians have to go