Predator
Te Whiti
& Tohu
Cross
Raukawa Moana
& canoe pitches
& paddlers hunch
& sou’wester
Punches
As Te Whiti
Stands
Tall
& leans
Into the squall
& it’s always the prophets
Who
Name
The predator
(The curse
Of
The common
People)
& Tohu
Wades
Ashore
On Onetahua
Uniting
The wairua
Of the
Land
& the mana
Of the
Master
To proclaim
You cannot serve both
Atua
&
Mammon
Because Mammon
Is the eater
Of
Souls
& the eater
Of
The whole
Earth
& I thought
I’d learnt
This
Long ago
But I’d forgotten
For such is
The
Power
Of the predator
To
Put a man
To sleep
Though
The power
Of the wairua
Is greater
To wake a man
So he
Walks
Again
‘Te Whiti & Tohu;’ prophets from the Maori village of Parihaka in Taranaki
‘Raukawa Moana;’ also known as Cook Strait
‘Wairua of the land;’ the spirit of Onetahua
‘The mana of the Master;’ the power of the Christ. Te Whiti and Tohu were influenced by the teachings & mana of the Christ.
‘Atua;’ the maker or shaper, sometimes ‘God’
‘Mammon;’ wealth, as an idol or evil influence
.