He Apakura
Dec 20, 2020
Ki te rae o Pūrehurehu rā
Ko Te Tuhimāreikura o Oho
Ko whakapao i a karu
Rā pea koe kai ruka i te karetai moana
Te toroa awe nui e topa ana
E topa ana kē koe ki hea?
E topa ana ki te ara moana?
Tīkapa noa ana te kūrae o mahara
i te paiao pūkatokato kai Pukekura
Auraki ana a Piopiotahi
i te āwhā tūmatateka
He au waikamo e horoi i te mata
Me he roimata huatau ka rere ki Ōtākou
Ko Kupu, ko noho mū
Ko Takata, ko nehua
Kia hahua ai rāua e Tahu Pākiki
Kai te waha o te āpōpō
a Kupu e karawhiua e
Kai te huatau o te ākekokeko
a Takata e hōrapa ana
Nāu rāua i whakahoki
i te pepa
ki te arero
Ko te kaha uia te kaha
Arā te Tūtemakohu o ēnei rā
Arā te iti o Nukutauraro
Arā te rahi o Te Pahi
Ko te whare o Te Ruahikihiki
E wehi nei, e wehi nei
Ko tū koe te tū o te ikoa ko kawea
I whitikia koe e te whetū
I naua kē koe e te marama
Ka huri ki a wai ināianei?
E taku tahu, e taku Tahu
Ko haea te kahu o taku raki
Ka pēhea e tuia anōtia?
Ko tōia koe e Tahu Kumea,
e Tahu Whakaero
ki te tara o Poutūteraki,
ki te whare o Pōhutukawa
Unutai e, unutai e
Ko te wai anake, nā ko Ōtākou
Look out beyond Pūrehurehu. It is he, who
caused the sky to turn red in the evening.
It is he, who caused us to stare
into the nothingness
Perhaps it is you who glides over the choppy seas. The majestic albatross who there soars
To where do you soar oh gallant one?
Do you soar over the pathway to the sea?
The headland of memories lies mourning
Under the cloud of heartache at Pukekura
Piopiotahi is buffeted
by wild storms of anguish
The tears that fall from my eyes are like
the current that flows at Ōtākou
Words once sat in silence
Ancestors had been long dead and buried
Until inquisitive Tahu resurrected you both
Now those words fall freely from the mouths of our tomorrow. Those ancestors ensconced in the minds of our future leaders and spread further still. It was you who rejuvenated
the stories of old and returned them
to the mouths of the storytellers from
the lost pages of history.
When they ask who you are, we will answer
There is the Tūtemakohu of today
There is the heir of Nukutauraro
There is the successor of Te Pahi
Revered by the great house
of Te Ruahikihiki
You carried the name in the manner that befits the mana. The stars shone down upon you and so you were devoured by the moon
Who do we turn to now?
My love, my Tahu.
My world has been ripped asunder.
How will it ever be repaired?
You have been taken from us by Tahu Kumea, by Tahu Whakaero,
taken to the cavern of Poutūteraki,
to the mansion of Pōhutukawa
What has transpired? Only the waters
of Ōtākou can now be heard
Above: Tahu at Elephant Rocks in Takapō. He took each child on a trip after he got his liver transplant and this trip was with Tūkitaharaki. The photo was taken by Tūkitaharaki who got to see the stars with his pāpā after he had a star named after him for a birthday present.
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