LAMENT FOR TUKINO TE HEUHEU
BY HIS BROTHER IWIKAU. Thou* alone of all thy fellows, art wakeful And distress'd the live long night! Keen sorrow preys upon my heart, and it is Withering, as fish taken from its stream And placed upon a tiepa, as offerings to the gods. The strength of all our prayers are broken, And all our influence with the long list Of deities is at an end, for he has gone, His skin is being wet with morning dews. The seasons pass away and come again \ — The house tho' old may be repaired, and Men may live therein; —the canoe tho' Shattered may be manned by warriors And paddled o'er the deep laden With spears and clubs; but the father Who leaves his weeping people returns no More for ever! When thou wentest forth to battle, thy elder Brothers, even the mighty tribes Titu Rallied round thy standard, whilst Thou didst lead them to the thickest of the fight. I look upon the sea, the heaving sea, how still! Fathers ! behold me now! I'm here alone, for he who was as mild As lightsome airs, or fiercer than the Wintry blast, when enemies approached Is lost to us ! And now the fountains Of the deep are dry;—the great sea-god is dead! High in the heavens, where the great star Kehua nsed to shine there's nought but void, And in her turn the moon forgets to rise. A train of evils, sire, has come, by which thou Wert encompassed, and thou hast perished, Thou, hast passed away for ever. * The poet addresses himself here.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MMTKM18550301.2.37
Bibliographic details
Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 3, 1 March 1855, Page 32
Word Count
267LAMENT FOR TUKINO TE HEUHEU Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume I, Issue 3, 1 March 1855, Page 32
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