FOR HE WHO WEARS THE SEA LIKE A MALO TE TANGATA TEI MARO I TE MOANA
for Wayne Westlake (1946-1984) (Translation in Rarotongan by Kauraka Kauraka)
By Richard Hamasaki  
   
When winds bend the tips of branches Me akauka te matangi i te rara rakau
and salt air lingers on the tongue e te au tai kua takavakava i te arero
with voice never faltering te reo kare e tarevake
steady in the eye of the sun ngaueuekore i mua i te aroaro o te ra
   
Listen for a while E akarongo no tetai tuatau
in the night that surrounds all our days i roto i te po tei koropini i o tatou ao
to he who wears the sea like a malo ki te tangata tei maro iaia ki te moana
wrapping the oceans around tona tatua ia ko te moana
   
As ulu grows branches for leafy shade I te rara kuru e tupu ra kia maru
and fruits for voyages home te ua ei manga no te tereanga ki te ipukarea
listen to our ancestors speaking e akarongo i te ako a te ai tupuna
and to those who know ways to heal e pera katoa ki te au taunga rapakau
   
Finish what has been started E akaoti i tei akamataia
placing one stone then another te au toka kia patu takitaiia
to never again be defeated kia kore e riro te mana akaaere
and begin rebuilding shelter te au kainga e akaou i te reira
   
For he who wears the sea like a malo Koia te maro iaia ki te moana
gathers about him infinite inspiration kua koropiniia aia e te mana maata
as we continue a journey within i to tatou teretereanga ngaro
that empties the heart of sorrow kia ririgiia te mamae o te ngakau kia ngaro

 

From the Spider Bone Diaries: Poems and Songs (Hamasaki, Richard. Honolulu: Kalamaku Press, 2000)

[For red flea's tribute to Wayne Westlake, read "land of the dead"]

[For another writer to writer tribute read Augusto Al Q'adi's poem for Juan Gelman -- in English -- and in the original Spanish (en Español)]

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