Two Poems

Kaea, Issue 4, 1 September 1980, Page 30

Two Poems

TAKU MOKOPUNA

Haere mai, mokopuna Haere mai; be seated Aah ah ah ah, that’s better Akarongo mai Listen to Nanny-ma Why do you cry, mokopuna? I heard voices Nanny-ma Hard, hard voices Vibrant; assured Dead voices Hollow voices Decrying my Maoritanga Rangitane! Be still.

Hearken to the voices of your Ui Tupuna your ancestors They have wailed for centuries I echo their moaning in my bones in my skin in my tingling scalp As you too, will continue the sounds of sadness

That is our inheritance Rangitane... You are many cultures, Stranded and plaited with timeless sennit Deny not the existence of one culture The hues of the remuna, the pomegranate Are set at germination... So too, are the hues of your very being Nanny-ma, I hear those voices Hard, hard, voices Mocking Vibrant; assured Dead voices Hollow voices Decrying my Maoritanga!

Tane, kua oti...cease. Titiro ki to ingoa Look at your name Rangitane Tane of the heavens ‘Neath the realms of Io Your special star was chosen in the long ago I hold the key to your multi-faceted star Akara i to tupuna Look at your own great grandfather Utanga Utanga...he waits for you today From the Vaka of Karika Ariki, Tumu-te-Varovaro E tangata maru A gentle man Hemi Ngarangi-ka-tuku Mokena... he waits for you Ngati Kahungunu, Korongata E tangata maru A gentle man

Irish and Polish tupuna help To set the course to that star Locked in the vaults of the heavens In the upper realms of 10... 10-te-atua-nui-i-te-rangi-tua-tinitini The voices are fading Nanny-ma Ae, they’re going away Always look at your ingoa Tane Sealed within the names Are the secrets of your destiny What are you thinking, mokopuna? I would like to be a Totara tree A Totara Meitaki mokopuna. Grow tall Reach upwards

Cut through the many planed skies Your whetu, your star, beckons O-o-o-o-o-o-o You’re weary Ariana! Wait! Don’t go Pepe Tane, tell your papa James Utanga Morgan Ka rere taua ki Rarotonga We will fly to Rarotonga Ki Te-Rua-o-te-Tonga Ki Mangaiti Kairoa Ki to tatou Ipukarea; our ancestral homeland Ine...

Please... Tell your friends at kindy Oro koe kite maunga E Ariki koe no te manu Oro koe kite moana E Ariki koe no te ika Go yonder to the mountains Thou art king over the birds Hasten forth to the ocean Thou rulest over the fishes An idiom from Hawaiki Tawhito, ancient Hawaiki. Ae, Rangitane Tell your friends You all reign supreme over this fair land. This is New Zealand Aotearoa Hawaikinui!

Otira ua Na Teupokoina Morgan

PATUWHENUA

This was my dream: I was bobbing for tuna, and suddenly the big one struck! Aue! He gripped and laid back grinning, and my standing-place tore loose and I was pulled into the lagoon! I woke you because I believe its truth: we are adrift.

Rangi Faith