Tūpuna
Ko Pukekaroro te maunga / i came from the bowels of my mother / who
came from the bowels of hers / all the way back / to Pukekaroro / my
mountain / my whenua / the spirits / the wairua of this land / brought to
life / through the actions of your mokopuna / we’ve worked the
whenua / utilised the whenua / abused the whenua / destroyed the
whenua / our whenua / not their whenua…/ well it once was our land /
should be our land /
Papatūānuku weeps / her tears and blood / the heat that stains / your
hands / like crimson on wool / generations go by / yet still, she cries / we
cry / i cry…/ they lied / played with our mind / rewired / trained / tamed / like
savage, stray kurī / whipped / pummelled / you kick us like dirt / the very dirt
you stand upon / on our land / lost words / unheard / our voice squeezed out
of us like juice / drained / reduced / you died / living their lie / forced to hide /
Ko Talamesi rāua ko Chilali ōku mātua / parents lead me / they guide
me / like the stars that guided my tūpuna / to this land / Aotearoa / the land
of the long white cloud / beauty all around / we sculpt taonga /
powerful enough to protect / then came the real cloud / thought to be the
light amidst the dark / who changed our ways / sculpted us to / their ideal
moulds / moving / constant movement / it never stops / stuck in the same
spot / waenganui / in between / such a small world / living / in between / too
black to be white / yet too white to be black / lost on a big, blank white
page / stuck between the thin black lines / no escape / all for what / what
cost do we pay to be different?
Watching / distant / life goes by / i see you / wind rustles your
hair / disappear / like the smog / which once was / now stuck in the air / you
felt like wā kāinga / home / memories / faded watercolours of time / melting
clocks / a signal / it’s all going by / you’re gone / my tūpuna / my beloved
tūpuna / your words linger in my mind / Inā kei te mōhio koe ko wai koe,
i anga mai koe i hea, kei te mōhio koe, kei te anga atu ki hea / if you
know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where
you are going / i’ve learnt from my tūpuna / to love the dark / you can
either shine as bright / as the matariki stars / or / blend into the shadows /
we are warriors / and we will survive.
Bella Laban
Year 12
Michael Park School, Auckland
Stunning, Bella. Thank you.