20
It’s my birthday as I watch samples
Taken from Fish Creek & Te Waikoropupu
& learn about the Arthur Marble Aquifer
& the stygofauna that clean the water
How it goes in brown & comes out clear
& the science guy wonders at the brilliance of the early Maori
Who didn’t have science, but knew she was alive
& they called her – Huriawa –
& I say – ‘But we mustn’t forget the early Maori
Lived a lot closer to Nature than we do, & had Tohunga
Who saw in ways science can’t
& who knew Te Waikoropupu was a living being’ –
& I look up at the science guy
& he’s smiling & grinning & nodding his head
Dedicated to the two ‘science guys’ who took me with them
As they tested the waters of Fish Creek, and Te Waikoropupu.
‘Stygofauna;’ tiny creatures that live underwater in cave
& aquifer systems
‘Huriawa:’ “The taniwha Huriawa, who lives at Te Waikoropupu
Is one of the three main taniwha of Aotearoa
‘Tohunga;’ priest/shaman’s who have the gift of being able
To connect with the hidden powers of the natural/spiritual world.