Kawekawe kōrero
Kawekawe kōrero
Ko tā te ngutu he whakahua kau
Mā ngā tini kawekawe ia te toro atu,
Rongo ai, whakaaro ai
Toro mai rā e ngā kāwai
Kawea mai te kupu
Tāmoea nei au i āu kōrero
Whātero mai i ōu arero tini,
— Ko ēnā iaia mōnehu
Kare tīwheta mai ki au,
Kōwirihia raunatia ai
Me he wheke raporatori
E tūwhera ana i te tiā tiāmu…
Tākiri atu, tākiri mai
Ōu ngongotua kupu:
Karapoti mai i ahau,
Ngongo noa mai ai
Kia patapata nei te kupu
Mei taupiripiri tātou,
Kawekawe mā . . .
Tahuri mai
Tāhere kaha mai
Me he pōhue pakaua
Takawhīwhiwhi I ahau
Porotītitia noa ai
Ki ēnei kāwai
Kia rorohū atu au
I tō hau.
Kawekawe kōrero1
For the beak, it’s only the uttering,
It’s the tentacles really that stretch out,
And taste, and contemplate
Curl forth then, tendrils,
Bear forth your words
And smother me in speech
Unfurl those velvet sinews,
— Your many reaching tongues
Ripple writhingly to me
And unscrew me here
Like a laboratory octopus
Opening up a jam jar.
Stretch out, unravel here
Those wordy tentacles:
Enfold me about and
Let your suction pads
Guzzle freely here
Leave me adrip with
Tasselled speech
O! That we might embrace
Close and fast, kawekawe mā,
Turn to me,
Bind me tight
As a sinuous pōhue
Entangle me
And whirl me about
With these your tendrils
Till I buzz and hum freely
On your breath.
1Kawekawe kōrero is a term for a gossip, a talkative or slanderous person, suggesting one who carries about stories or kōrero with them. Kawekawe, wonderfully, is also a word for tentacles or tendrils.
Austin Haynes is a singer currently based in the UK and grew up between Ōtākou and Naarm Melbourne. He studied an undergrad and master’s in medieval and Renaissance literature. He spends most of his time thinking about the plants, creatures and art we share the world with.
’Kawekawe kōrero’ is the winner of the 2023 Monica Taylor Poetry Prize. Judge Robert Sullivan writes:
The winning entry excels in two languages—te reo Māori and English. Its surface meaning concerns the tentacles of the wheke, or octopus. Yet ’WHEKE’ is also a well-known educational acronym for Māori language learners, and also an holistic educational model where each tentacle covers different aspects of well-being for tangata whenua. The wheke here in this poem could be te reo Māori itself, a wonderful creature which brings multiple aspects of identity and well-being. This is an amazing poem. I was constantly looking up terms in the te reo Māori version; I was not familiar with the gossip or talkative gloss provided by the author in a footnote. The lineation in both versions is impressive. The author is very well-read in English and te reo Māori. The lines in Māori range from between eight to twelve vowels which feels close to mōteatea composition style. The English is contemporary and the voice is believable in its emotional centre.