Wordsworth

This week’s task was to write a four-line poem about Aotearoa incorporating te reo. Thank you to all who attempted the challenge.

Peter Dawson, Tauranga:

I am Tauiwi

I have no whakapapa

No tūrangawaewae

But an abiding aroha for this whenua, āe.

Tony Clemow, Kamo:

E kore e hekeheke he kākano rangatira

E kore koe e ngaro he kākano no Rangiātea.

(Generations based on heritage are seeds that never perish.

A sacred seed that germinates will last forever cherished.)

David Wort, Te Puke:

Why come to ngā motu o te kiwi?

Māori, Tauiwi, we’re all kinds of iwi

Sharing this taonga, life is ka pai,

Eating pipi and pūpū and the Maketu pie.

Anne Martin, Helensville, with two entries:

Shall toroa go wandering no more?

Shall the kākāpō boom no longer echo across valleys?

Shall tara-iti no longer flit, fairy-like, over the shore?

Kaitiaki, it’s up to us.

Te Ika-a-Māui,

Te Waipounamu,

Te Punga o te Waka a Māui.

A skein of jewels clasped in blue ocean. Rex McGregor, Auckland, wins with:

If the party’s low on pia or kai, She’ll be right, bro. Kei te pai. No sweat. Kāore he raruraru.

We’ll sort it out with wire tau waru.

The next contest is to write a happy story in just three words. Entries, for the prize below, close on Thursday, February 13.

Submissions: wordsworth@listener.co.nz or Wordsworth, NZ Listener, Private Bag 92512, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141. Please include your address. Entries may be edited for sense or space reasons.