KOE KOE Ā
Ihumātao BY D ONNA MCLEOD, T E ĀT I AWA
Our first born
Our first born
is holding the blue line.
is holding the blue line.
Blessed by mana whenua kaumātua, Kīngitanga,
He tells his cousin, who stands before him,
an eviction notice is served.
he is proud of her and to be safe.
Houses can be built on confiscated
He texts his sister, as she gathers koha,
land, deals have been struck.
to dress warmly and bring him pizza.
Our first born
Our first born
is their visual might.
upholds our uri.
Our first born
Our first born
is still holding the blue line
is holding the blue line.
after the important people have left.
He carries maunga, waters, whenua, whānau,
Those left holding space have woken.
grew up knowing
They too form a line.
he was born holding te Tiriti.
Kanohi ki te kanohi.
He stands as Māori.
Our first born
Our first born
is their pou.
is.
Our first born
Our first born
is holding the blue line,
is holding the blue line.
standing fifteen hours,
He is a child of Parihaka.
no kaumātua, no karakia.
His blood runs with passive resistance.
We karakia.
He is a child of warriors
We hold him.
and men of God.
Our first born
Our first born.
is our heart.
E tū, Tama.
Our first born is holding the blue line with Māori, with Pasifika full-face challenges of kūpapa, told he isn’t Māori, whakaiti of whakapapa, lectured on the Treaty. They stand as pou. Our first born. Puku stirs.
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Donna McLeod belongs to the Wakatū whānau and lives on her papakāinga in Motueka. Donna was at Ihumātao on 2 August 2019, the day her poem was featured as the Friday Poem on the website, The Spinoff. She is a writer and performer of Te Ora Haa and a member of Te Ohu Whakaari. She is published in Headlands: New Stories of Anxiety (VUP, 2018) and Eastbourne: An Anthology (Mākaro Press, 2013). Image: Ihumātao 25 July 2019, Alika Wells, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
