When the Riroriro Sang
by George McMahon (1922 - 1998)
Where were you when Grey Warbler sang
Up behind Bald Spur where we used to hang
on the rata vines,
under the great trees
and hear from the dark green valleys
The Riroriro
Sad and sweet and clear
And we heard when the hills rang
Again and again
A hundred echoing whistles from the speeding trains,
bound for Taneatua
Blow, blow, blow, blow, blow
from Waihou
And the Riroriro sang
as it did one hundred years ago.
It trilled clear when the tramlines and the water chutes
cut through the bush
And the thousand great roots bled
as man showed his disdain for their bleeding
And the Riroriro sang,
Unheeded and mourning and pleading.
And it sang when men tore the guts out of the hill
from the old Tui mine.
Dammed up there still
they lie poisoned and dead
Ready to spill when the earth starts to shake
And the Riroriro calls for the rain
...and the dam starts to break.
Will you care when the dam starts its slide?
And the river no longer the giver of life
its water the colour of liver,
writhes with the throes of the eels and the fish
and the Riroriro echoes shrill through the rain
Our own death wish
George Henry McMahon, October 1983
Posted by opawa at August 7, 2008 09:27 AM