When I First Asked For My Whakapapa
Miriama Gemmell
I heard four names / four
corner posts for a whare /
irish seaman / scotch gambler /
german whaler / and an english
captain / four white men
for the foundations /
of Who I am / carving their
last names to our tuakiri
/ when ours were insufficient /
next I heard a list of names /
lilting like bird song /
Tamatea-ariki-nui / Rongokako
/ Tamatea-pōkai-whenua / to
his son and his son and his son
/ we’ll never know if some of
the fathers / were mothers /
needing to clarify ia or ia
/ came with the corner posts /
auē / taukiri ē! /
I call on my tīpuna wahine
/ where did you plant your
waewae? / which names were
yours / that I might call on
you to protect my mauri /
my wairua / which stumbles
at the clip-on edges / of his son
and his son and his son /
hidden names / forgotten
mothers / manaakitia mai /
kōrero mai / teach me to be
/ humble / to have heard /
proud / to be heard / māia
and manawaroa / matapihi
tūroa against the rain /
manawanui / with or without
the grace of their god /