KUMERAU Dam Site – Upper Mazaruni River, Guyana
By T. Eric Matthews
In the early 1970’s the Guyana government took steps to develop a hydro-electric power scheme in the Upper Mazaruni River area. The Upper Mazaruni Development Authority (UMDA) was specifically created to plan and execute the project. The dam itself was to be built near or at the Kumerau Falls. A great deal of field work was done by several teams crisscrossing the Region. Actual construction never started and the scheme never came to fruition.
The early morning forest mists had cleared
Sunlight moved among the leaves and shifting shadows
We heard you in the near distance
There was no mighty roaring and tumult like your bigger sister Kaieteur
high up in the Potaro
We climbed and clambered up the rocky slope
Anxious to see you, to introduce ourselves, to feel you in the spirit
Your voice grew louder with each upward step
The rock-strewn path we trod could not deter.
We crested, and almost suddenly, there you were
In all your torrential majesty!
Kumerau! The dam site!
You were so splendid, as you rushed and fell
Over and across the wide lip of rocks
We felt the wetness, the freshness, the purity of yourself,
Your constant and unstoppable muted roar
Almost gentle upon our senses
Myriad rocks glistened and glinted at your feet
Rich green vegetation bathed in your dark brightness below
Strange insects flit in the moist air, iridescent in their brief sojourns.
We stood with almost reverence, almost speechless, enthralled!
You were so beautiful, so Godawesome!
How could we be so haughty, so arrogant to think of averting, of stemming,
of controlling you, to flood and inundate and drown your plains behind you,
To change the valley floor below you.
We stood, humbled,– and descended with the music of your voices
in our memories.
Kumerau! – No man-made dam will ever mar your pristine beauty!!
Comments
I love this poem. Do I have your kind permission to read it when I resume my FREE Poetry sessions at schools around Guyana? Thanks in advance, T. Eric Matthews. Francis Quamina Farrier
Lovely poem and I am glad to read that the dam project never got off the ground.
It was 1976, and we were Research Officers with UMDA, stationed in the Upper Mazaruni. Ted and I were there at Kumerau. His poem accurately depicts the majesty of the Falls. The line ‘myriad rocks glistened…’ is about the gold dust that lay embedded in the sand. And there were other minerals too. Guyana’s interior is not only beautiful, but rich as well. We have only begun to scratch the surface.
Excellent poem, beautiful imagery …” …We stood, humbled,– and descended with the music of your voices in our memories… ” … ONE LOVE ALWAYS
Is this the same T Eric Matthews that taught at South Georgetown government secondary ?
Great poem!!
My brother! We shared the first and glorious days of SGGSS ! Thank you for
sharing that learned comment re my little poetic effort. One Love!
Yes, this is he….Good to hear from you,Shaheed,
“How could we be so haughty, so arrogant to think of averting, of stemming, of controlling you …………….” beautiful lines, I love it.
Can one still climb up the Kumerau falls?