72. Hellhound

A gigantuan dog as big as a man
with the blackest of coats that I've ever seen
Is standing on guard and looking around
until his own eyes look at me and then down

With eyes like the silhouette of a black star
his face seems sad, sullen and shy
"Come here!" I say and beckon towards me
where he makes his way forward and slumps at my feet

It seems my protectors have come from the dark
to help me confront all the things on my path
With a dog on my left, and a cat on my right
I feel more assured going into the Night...

28. The dog's heart

I lie beneath the poutokomanawa closing my eyes
I can still make out Tama ki Hikurangi
and I can still see the image of Te Kooti
hanging in his small frame above it

Small golden stars appear above me
They move into formation as a triangle
Puangahori (Procyon) and Pūtara (Betelgeuse)
Meeting below, meeting Takurua (Sirius)

The head of a black dog comes forward
and later I am reminded of Canis Major
Paying particular attention to Messier 41
The heart of the kuri - an 8 sided star

With it's mouth (Sirius) in front
With it's heart (M41) behind it
Is this the doorway to the heart
a doorway to eight sources of mauri,
all within a beloved dog's heart?

Te Mōkai o Te Kooti