In 2008 when Annette and I were courting she took me to Shell Beach. We flew into Mabaruma and departed Kumaka by boat for a one hour ride through the mangrove fringed riverbanks of the Arouca, Barima, Mora Passage and Waini before crash landing on Shell Beach ( this is the only way to land when the water is rough). The rugged beauty and spectacular wildlife at Shell Beach is another column. On the return to Kumaka the next morning, the ocean was calm. Leaving the ocean and entering the mouth of the Waini lit by the morning sunrise was breathtaking. Being overcome with emotion I cried. That beautiful memory stayed with me and was awakened upon hearing Annette recently in one of her endless Zoom meetings making a presentation on why the Barima Mora Passage Mangroves and its Warrau peoples are so special and need to be protected.
The song below is a love song to her and the Barima Mora Passage Mangroves.
I AM THERE
Anywhere creek water flows
And the eagle floats on air
Anywhere the jaguar shows
I am there
Barima River running free
Ancient boulders standing clear
My footsteps don’t leave a mark
But I am there
When the shadows come down in moments blue
You may not see me but I’m there too
In the arrow in the bow
Mangrove crown or down below
In the mora tree, the smallest honey bee
In Drum and matapee
I am there
When the sun has run
When piwari done
And everyone is one
I am there
When the Warrau start to dance
Simple move, a step, a glance
Young and old fall in the trance
I am there
When the silver coffum leaps
Yellow eye and shining spear
When it thunders in the hills
I am there
In the Waini river
When the light grows pale
I’m there beside you on the trail
In the jaguar hunting prey
When the ibis flies away
In the diving hawk, in the waving stalk
In the spoonbills squwak
I am there
In the crow gone high
Arcing in the sky
In every butterfly
I am there
In the place Morawahanna stands
In those very busy lands
Home to all the roving bands
I am there
In Barima Mora’s beating heart
In big lagoons where fishes dart
In parrots flying far apart
I am there
For the grieving father and the mother’s cry
For the loss they suffer I’m nearby
In the Amerindian tale, in the mongoose in the snail
In the turtle shell, in the Shaman’s spell
In every Sunday’s bell
I am there
At night Aroucamai
And in the evening sky
When words of love go by
I am there
In every mangrove tree
The smallest honey bee
In quake and matapee
I am there
