The Calm Before the Storm
Words by Teherenui Koteka (she/her)
Te humaria i te oneone ote ui tupuna
kua akamanea ia ki te au mekameka
tuketuke
to te rangi, te enua ete mooooanaaaaaa
Rere rere o te manu o te reva
e kua to ki runga ite rau nikau
te tikatika o te kiriatai
viravira e te kanapa me iti o te ra taku
ipukarea
Te humaria eeeeeeee
She is a beauty, the lands of my forefathers
From the skies, to the land, to the ocean
Abundance, as far as the eye can see
The birds bound across the expansive skies
And land atop the fronds of the coconut tree
The surface of the sea rests, as is right
The sun wakes and embraces the motherland
All is at peace
Te Tangi o te Natura
Kia akara toku mata ki teia e tupu nei
te akaroa e
te vinivini i te rave a te ngaru I to tatou
oneone
Eaa ra i tupu ei?
kua akarongokore o te tangata ki te reo o to
tatou ao natura
te tuatua ua mai ra te one o te enua
kare ra to tatou pokai taringa I akarongo
atu
kua uri ke tatou
kua kopekope tatou
ko teia tei tupu
kua tae mai te ngaru ite takinokino i to tatou
ipukarea
te noo ua nei au
ma te akamaara I tei tupu ki to tatou
ipukarea
kua peke tona manea ki tetai ke
eaa ta te tangata nei manakoanga I tana I
rave?
Kua ravei I tona uaorai anoano
kua ngaropoina iaia e
te akamaroiroi maira to te one
kia akono iakia mouria ia te anoano ta te
natura e anoano mai ra Ammmiiiiiiiii
aiiiiiaaaaanoooooo
My eyes take in the world
How sad it is
I fear the turning of the waves, the unfurling
of the land
What has happened?
Te ao natura pleads for assistance
But her cries fall on deaf ears
We have changed.
We have gotten lazy.
This is what has happened.
The ocean has come to swallow our home
And still we sit
As though te ao natura hasn’t warned us this
would happen
The beauty of our paradise has been stolen
I ask you, what should we do?
We have met a suffering of our own making
We forget,
The care our environment shows us.
We must care for her
Hold her
Hear her desires
And she will do the same
Ami Aiano!