GONE

Tu Tangata, Issue 3, 1 November 1981, Page 33

GONE

I envision you as swift as the flight of the Kingfisher gliding upon your sacred path, to alight upon these virgin shores You speak to me through the mist, your voice is weak, but still I hear. My tipuna within me, listen to your words, my own wairua listens with them TRUE, your history did not grant you glory in the eyes of the people, but who are we to judge you? Condemned I see you restlessly wandering upon the beaten track continuously seeking an open ear to relieve the aching loneliness as te rangi scrapes your puku I weep for your mana is no longer

Karen Parata (Ngati Toa)

FAREWELL

Sole pohutukawa tree, spreading, silentStands sentinel over the marae, looking seaward Grey horse grazes in silence, close by A haze hovers over the swampy shore White grave stones pierce through. Such stillness! For our mother, alas, is still. Camelias, carnations, orchids Satin and lace For our mother, so still. The wailing gently breaks the silence heralding Waves of mourners, from afar Old trusted friends from nearby Heads bowed, bathed in the morning sun. Sounds of mourning ascend Folk gently voicing their lilting Melodic monotones Of soothing sounds from yesteryear. Of sounds echoing vibrations Of eons of tupuna Sounds of weeping tears Wracking torso Sounds upsetting Muffled by tangled waves Distorting inner muscles, deadening limbs. At last, the final farewell from mokopuna, From sister, daughters and an only son Haere ra e Ma; farewell!

Teupokoina Morgan KAKE 26-8-81

Patience is with the aged my brown brother it comes with the slow time of living, with the dribble and tremble and dreaming in the sun. Fire has died in the veins of the old ones, tasting the years with the past’s quick tongue. Only in dreams does the haka of war ring like thunder, tearing the past from the past bringing a song to the heart. The Heritage is a volcano, it is not a spirit with stealthy feet. It is a fury of rushing water a Kauri a strength, Patience is not for you yet my brown brother, Kake! Kake! the mountain is waiting, be powerful, be truthful and challenge your right to a place in the sun. Roma Henden.Tawa.