HINGA ATU HE TEKEKURA, ARA MAI HE TEKEKURA.
One of the many Whakatauki bestowed on the Maori soldiers who answered the call to war.
A Journey of remembrance, honour and gratitude.
This year the ANZAC commemorations on my home marae of PÅ«puaruhe unveiled the memorial plaque dedicated to the brave men who served as soldiers in World War 1, and World War 2.
In a moving ceremony we were led onto the marae behind the karanga and trumpets of the Ratana Brass Band.
As the roll call of these incredible men rang out over the Marae Atea members of their Whanau stepped forward, with huge sadness and pride, to lay the wreath of dedication and thanks along the shelter of the plaque.
White crosses held firmly in papa carried their names for us all to
remember and reflect.
In the silence that was broken in the timely march of the roll call people came together. We held arms, laughed and cried for the stories that rang out that day. We also looked at each other with wonder but mostly love for those since gone.
A true day of remembrance that covered us all in a korowai of sorrow and pride.
Long may we remember these men. Long may we reflect on the loss that is war.
Sharon Nuku 18-05-24
To remember Aunty Mary
The Karanga call
to beckon us on
I offer her my arm
Leaning in she looks up at me
Her eyes deep with sorrow
Another soul of her generation
now slipped into the past.
As we reach the whare and glance in
I can’t help but find the place against the walls that she and mum would sit.
Their children smiling as they sat them down and head into the kitchen.
Knowing those two would chatter for hours long into the day
Ignoring the eyebrows from the pae.
Another friend another memory another piece of her.
Gone from this life and leaving her behind.
And quietly this familiar whare is not familiar at all.
Faces now surround her she can only link by name.
Voices she hears now with unfamiliar sounds.
The last of a proud line.
She understands that now
I understand now
As we walk toward our later days
the path becomes more unfamiliar and alone
As souls and friend we hold dear
lose their place on this earth.
Sharon Nuku 10-07-22
.
Nestled
The wind is grumpy today
Clouds frown
Jostling for space above
Leaves cling wildly to branches
As trees sway to this mood above
Brave wings beat hard to hold course
While snow nestles down in remorse
From deep within you stir
Shifting your bones in the cold
I watch it all play out
My arms empty with nothing to hold
From afar
She is lifting her head
Pink arms snake out across the sky
Beware earth below
She has woken with vengeful force
Unleashing her rage to the morning
Tears batter the soil below
Mother shudders with sad recognition
This storm will claim souls and take hold
.
Sharon Nuku 19/07/19
,
Reflections of our Friend
On a high stool she is perched
Surrounded by her well chosen fans
Who all stand in an aura of mediocrity
The brilliant flashes of her well practiced smile
echo outward from her full painted mouth
Eyes of careful refinement observe
the eyes of others to find their direction
A hand reaches up to brush aside
a strand of impulsive hair
that has fallen across her face
carefully manicured and sculptured
She rearranges the strands
back into the long hours of artistry
I sit here dulled and dead
not really mad or jealous
just hoping this beauty
never meets Mr Old
The battle between these two desperate
the inevitable winner
gloating in his victims eyes.
Sharon Nuku 07-01-2021
.
Seasons
A summer day
the late spring breeze
dusting us with salty air
minted sunshine
rain sweet
Barefoot days of rock hopping
and sand dune surfing
Hitch hiking
catching the first ride out
Glimpsing back
you wave
In a blink
it is winter
.
Sharon Nuku 10-01-2021
.
When the wind blows
When the wind blows
let it blow and go as it wants
When the yearning grows
let it grow and go as it wants
Eventually the pain will come
it will stay for a while
let it stay for a while
and it will leave
.
Sharon Nuku 15-02-21
.
Old Lady Sitting
I saw an Old lady sitting
On her chin her Tipuna
The bold lines of Mana
faced the world in arrogant beauty
Wrinkled eyes told me nothing
but each line of her Moko
revealed antiquity
Before its strength
I felt shallow
And Maori, that I am,
incomplete
she holds strong this link
the voice of tipuna
that will ever speak
in the silence that is Moko.
Sharon Nuku 2021
.
Here she comes
Here she comes
up over the hills
across the vales
chasing clouds
dimming stars
for the day
another day
Her joyous trek
across our skies
through our dreams
breathing scent into flowering hearts
warming collective skins
renewing hope
Good morning Sun
.
Sharon Nuku 20 July 2021
for Whare
.
Free Falling
I have lost my place in the world
There was a hole
where the earth was
that I didn’t see
I planted my foot down
and fell
I’m still falling
Free
.
Sharon Nuku 10-12-2021
.
the Rain
A droplet of time
Our thirst of yesterday
Her guzzle of today
The growth of tomorrow
Ranginui sending out a caress
to Papatuanuku
Until we are ghosts
Sharon Nuku 01-03-2020
Widows Walk
Deep in the night
rang the Ruru’s bell
mourning cry
as two men fell
Climbing the heaven where maunga dwell
Alone in the dark
tall and proud
His Silence, His Cloak, His Shroud
Sunrise-scarlet red
stalked the world full of dread
Widow marked in black
join the hymn of the Ruru
As men don’t come back.
.
10 May 2021 Sharon Nuku
You offer some interesting points within this article, but aren’t you lacking something fundamental?
yes