he mōteatea mō Witi

whanganui, ōtepoti, whakatū,
i kite tātou i a Witi,
me āna kōrero,
āna waiata,
āna paki.

whanganui, ōtepoti, whakatū,
i kite tātou i a Witi,
tēnei tōtara haemata
me tana pōtae kōhure,
tana koti parāone,
tāna memene.

tēnei tōtara haemata
me mārohirohi
i ngā wā katoa.
i mua,
i muri:
te kaituhi mātārere
mō āke tonu atu.

 

[English language ‘translation’

a mōteatea for Witi (Ihimaera)

whanganui, dunedin, nelson.
we saw Witi,
with his conversations,
his songs,
his stories.

whanganui, dunedin, nelson.
we saw Witi,
this great chief,
with his distinctive hat,
his brown coat,
his smile.

this great
and mighty chief
always.
before,
after:
the harbinger writer
forever.]

 

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Vaughan Rapatahana (Te Ātiawa) commutes between homes in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Aotearoa New Zealand. He is widely published across several genres in both his main languages, te reo Māori and English, and his work has been translated into Bahasa Malaysia, Italian, French, Mandarin, Romanian, and Spanish. He is the author and editor/co-editor of well over forty books.