79. Medicine from afar

A gold Moai stands to a backdrop of stars
shining yellow and gold as opposed to our white
A star scape or night sky of a land from afar
is what I now look at in wonder and awe

Rongoa or medicine comes from our plants
it comes from the earth, the water and air
Similarly must it come from the elements
which give this new World it's own life and own form

"May I have some? Not for me - for my planet?"
I ask the Mowai who looks down with a smile
and instantly do I breathe in gold air
and bask in the radiance of these foreign stars

It fills my whole body, my spirit and mind
and fills me with beauty and lifts me up high
I turn and I thank the gracious Moai
for these gifts and his grace, which makes my heart cry...

55. Little sweet potato

On the floor of the lounge I play my koauau
while looking out over the hills and the valley
The chords that I play bring dark clouds together
and streaks of blood red fly across the horizon

From the recess of space and of time itself
a figure appears in the dawning red light
A warrior's face moves slowly towards me
with feather and bone adorning his head

My heart becomes stricken and my playing now ceases
as he comes bearing a bowl filled with sweet red potatos
"Make it good" I'm instructed as he hands it to me
punctuated with stares that pierce through my heart

Are these are the kūmara stolen from Whanui
by Rongomaui as a gift for his wife?
A gift from the Gods which was taken from Vega
reigning in a new stage, a new age - a new era?

Several weeks later I'm back in the dream
but this time the kumara sit atop a gold plate
The tiniest of shoots have begun to appear
and fastidiously I remove them with care

From a humble potato can vast change occur
small tiny shoots pushing up through hard ground
It can change the environment, change the landscape
whether physical, political or inside my heart