Poem: Jabiluka 1

Jabiluka 1

The ground it was sodden, the grass it was green
When first I did hear of something obscene
To mine Jabiluka, to sink down a mine
For what use is a portal, without a decline?

Oh dread for the future, and cry for the earth
Weep for you country, the land of your birth.

There's the little Ray family, to send you to hell
There's Alpha and Beta and Gamma as well
And when they get round to the digging it out
They'll meet Radon, the daughter, just hanging about.

When she gets inside past the hairs of your nose
She'll eat out your lungs and shrivel your toes
Your bones will dissolve to a powdery mess
And you will never ever need a new evening dress

Oh dread for the future, and cry for the earth
Weep for your country, the land of your birth.

Now the grass is all brittle, the ground it is brown
Except where it's burnt by an incendiary clown
The blockade's in place, they're all standing fast
They need your assistance to make the fight last.

When the next nuclear plant blows up on the breeze
There'll be two-headed monsters selling caesium cheese
So roll up your swag and save up your fine
And get with the strength on the old picket line.

So fight for a future and fight for your land
Uranium mining must always be banned.

Col Friel

From GLW issue 323