POEM 1
Te Puia 2017
Echoes through the ages
Sweet ring of enchanted places
Our role – in this flicker of time
Protect this sacred rohe
Surf rumbles – familiar sighing
Aaahhhhh…
Pā resonates mysterious presence
All who come by here touched by it…mauri…wairua
Today heralds onshore winds
Change – moon driven tide
My mokopuna help place precious plants
I smell smoke from past fires
I look around – shadow ancestors
Pause – smiles – soft breath
Easing out long sigh
Aaaahhhh…
We plant karamū, harakeke, mānuka, kahikatea, pōhutukawa, māhoe, kawakawa
Our hands dry out – skin cracks
Boots chafe and pinch
Still we plant – for our children’s children
Little time left for everything the planet needs done
I cry out – shadow ancestors turn in alarm
Moving among us – comfort of their presence – encouraging – energising
Again I smell smoke from past fires
Chanting on the wind
Then they are gone
Only the māhi is left.
By Howard Saunders
Poem 2
Reflection of the world
It was a zigzagging coastline and a sheer deep blue summer is old
Colourful boats slide over the deep sea
A few white seagulls on the reef reveal the never-ending beauty
The sea breeze slowly makes everything nameless
The green forest is nameless, the person who rides the waves is nameless,
The boat oars are nameless
Looking back at the nameless, the world is unknown
There is only a traceless hint that falls between the mountains and the sea
Throw away trivial everyday life
To love the reflection of the world
Treat the ordinary as an extraordinary gift
Treat reefs and seagulls as eternity
Lay the ordinary into the waves
What’s really left behind becomes a part of you
Some things are not lost, but given
By Yaning Ma Foreman
Author’s comment:
Because of the epidemic and accompanying the children, I feel a bit overdrawn. When I take the children to play at the beach, I suddenly see a very beautiful picture. Because of the low tide, the beauty is more pure. This is a revelation: the world will always give people comfort and rewards, as long as you have a delicate mind.
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