Apirana Taylor
Hinemoa’s daughter
her hair is so long
you could plait it all the way to the moon
and weave it with a sprinkling of stars
she writes poetry
as only the muse can write
when she smiles
she melts the heart of God
‘I’m from Te Arawa’ she says
she shows me her litany of scars
they climb like ladders
up the insides of her wrists
deep savage cuts to the bone
speak of her youth and the countless times
she sent herself along the path of the spirits
and sought the solace of Hine nui te po
like her tipuna Hinemoa
she swam the lake
but her lake was of fire and death
broken bottles drunken fights
smashed families shattered and scattered whanau
and she made it
she crossed the troubled water
and found her tane who loves her
more deeply than the heart can tell
in the city of the lost
they raise many fine young children
with aroha
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