from all the symbols available.

I have tried to draw a waka with words,

but it is becalmed by its own weight,

and the grunting of its maker.

Uncle Sam’s work is not for sale.

Waka 80

Peter Robinson created a painting

of many waka – white ones – among

the fleet there is a brown one, depicting

his Maori descent.

If I had an eight waka fleet

five would be Maori.

My Grandmother Sarah’s mother,

of Kai Tahu and Kati Mamoe descent.

Her father was Scottish.

My Grandfather James’s parents were Irish,

their forebears probably used coracles.

My Grandfather Massey’s parents

who were of Ngati Kahu and Ngati Manu.

My Grandmother Matekino’s parents,

of Ngati Hau and Ngati Whatua.

If I had a fleet of sixteen,

ten would be Maori.

If I had a fleet of thirty-two,

twenty would be Maori.

If I had a fleet of sixty-four,

forty would be Maori.

Then eighty. A hundred and sixty.

Three hundred and twenty.

To the beginning

of the Maori people.

I have parts of these genealogies written

linking parts of me with different waka.

Unfortunately, and it’s a real regret,

I can go back only a little way

with my Irish and Scottish inheritance.

Waka 81 A cup of tea

At Harvest in Grey Lynn among

the alternative medicines and groceries

I saw they sell kumarahou leaves.

I wasn’t thinking on my feet.

I’d bought sarsparilla and arnica

for my gout, but I hadn’t thought

clearly – kumarahou man,

kumarahou is rongoa, Maori medicine,

good for the soul and cleansing

the poisons from your system.

The poison of mortgage stress.

Poison of material jealousy.

Poison of cycles of obsession.

These being poisons to do with the chest.

It could make me a new man,

give me the strength to row a waka.

Waka 82 Te ao marama III

i

Whatonga followed his grandfather Toi

to Aotearoa aboard Kurahaupo. He sailed

the Pacific to reach the man. He followed

the coasts (west and east) of the new land

to catch word of the man. Toi

must have been very proud,

very moved, to see his grandson.

ii

This second account is of a waka

designed for migration. Some claim

it was enchanted and wrecked.

A reef remains where the timber

may still be seen.

There are many different versions

and places for this waka.

Waka 83

I ask you, waka, ark, high altar

above the sea, your next destination?

Tangi, tangi throughout the land,

I am in demand to take souls to Hawaiiki

to satisfy the honour of spirits.

Take me to Hawaiiki.

Make an exception for one who breathes.

I will take you while you sleep.

You will see phosphorescent waves,

do not be frightened. Whale spouts

will hold the balls of your feet.

You will see the first Mount Hikurangi.

Swim in the Healing Spring of Tane

where the moon sleeps.

You will hear the elevated speech

of those who observe the destinies

driving the bodies of the people,