107. Women of Potaka

In Te Pai o Nga Pakanga I wake up in a dream
and see scores of young people crowding around me
Laughing and playing and singing out loud
are the mauri of those who renovated this house

Deep in the wall a large doorway opens
inviting me out and into the night
and as I step through it night changes to day
where three Mareikura are smiling at me

I'm given protection, a great orange python
adorning my head as I kiss all the women
and there I am shown old gardens and plots
belonging to families who lived long ago

But a much deeper lesson is conveyed to me
of a time when great magic was seen on this land
They ask to remind all the ones that they love
of the place of their tupuna whaea of old

* Te Pai o Nga Pakanga (Marae, Potaka, Gisborne)
* Mareikura (Goddess)
* Tupuna Whaea (Grandmothers)

17. Raggedy Ann

Raggedy Ann – quiet and calm

Leant over me with her sister behind
Her moppy long hair, very red, very straight
With her face out of sight, no humanity bared

But that seems to be their nature – the Poutiriao
No care for frailty; of fears and emotion

Just a clinical interview of the mind, body and soul
and testing the bits that seem out of whack

The first tested confrontation, the second one fear
and this one – the heart, stabbing me there
I woke in the morning with a faint pain in my heart
wondering what lay ahead, on another new path...