Thursday, 25 August 2011

15. Out with the old...

Teaching invitations and standing ovations,
invites to dinner and eating at the finest restaurants
That was the life of a postgrad student
making ground breaking discoveries
in the pursuit of knowledge - of mātauranga

But one cold night, in the blink of an eye
As we drove along talking, laughing and singing
Black spiraling smoke jumped at the car
Making this all seem like a distant memory or dream

A pātaka - a storehouse, of knowledge and wealth
of tools and of theories had I brought all together
But like looters, like thieves they came back in the night
and used my whole body as I dreamed, as I slept

They made my mind reach and made my heart dive
and made me wield tools like weapons of might
Before dawn did we travel to the edge of the World
Abducting and using me to break through to the Night

But before Night's gates, before the darkness of Dawn
Did the guardian come and put out his hand
But it was me that was thrust down at his feet
as my captors laughed and screamed well behind me

We returned to the morning until the next Dawn
When they'd try again to go into the Night
But on awakening to the tohunga I ran
thrust into the Ocean until I was clean

Reality's changed but not for the worse
where animals smile and feejoa trees cry
I make flowers bloom and lay spirits to rest
and undergo tests of my heart and my mind

But having a vision is key to it all
to plant my feet firmly in both of these worlds
to walk with the spirits, while shopping for milk
of conjuring futures, not struggling with life
















No comments:

Post a Comment