Papatuanuku*

Oh water planet
shining blue
on black,
the crystal mist
of stars
your veil.

Moon rises
slowly here
and rolling waves
embrace the shores
of the beloved
land.

As old as
Maui's hair
the ancient wisdoms
lie beneath
the sands of
Maramaratotara** -

waiting for the
tender hand
and laughing heart
to touch the place
where earth and sky
and whale-song
meet.

But rolling
thunder reaches
ears so dulled
and eyes
that do not see.

Beyond the
hold of man,
so deep in
heart and rock,
she mourns
the passing
of her children
from the garden
once entrusted
to us.

But listen!
Slumbering giants
wake!
Her fire
walks the earth
once more!

Rejoice! Rejoice!
The turning
of the tide's
begun!

The withered
leaves are not
forgotten.

*(The Earth Mother of Maori mythology)
**(a seething volcanic caldera some 20 million years ago, now a necklace of sandy beaches)