ēnei pīwakawaka
konei, he pīwakawaka.
konā, he pīwakawaka.
anei, he pīwakawaka!
he ia wahi ēnei manu whakamiharo.
this one teases me
in flippant fandance,
that with ceaseless chatter;
like feathered maenads flitting here and there
in spirited somersaults.
e rekareka ēnei manu.
heoi anō, he pātai.
ha, pīwakawaka, he aha tēnei whakamātakitaki?
he aha koutou ka tākarokaro tonu ai i ahau?
are you perhaps my dead son,
constantly chirruping hello?
are you welcoming me in this world,
or beckoning me
to the next?
konei, he pīwakawaka.
konā, he pīwakawaka.
anei, he pīwakawaka!
[Translations from te reo Māori to English –
ēnei pīwakawaka
konei, he pīwakawaka.
konā, he pīwakawaka.
anei, he pīwakawaka!
he ia wahi ēnei manu whakamiharo.
these fantails
here, a fantail
there, a fantail
here it is, a fantail
everywhere these wonderful birds
e rekareka ēnei manu.
heoi anō, he pātai.
ha, pīwakawaka, he aha tēnei whakamātakitaki?
he aha koutou ka tākarokaro tonu ai i ahau?
these birds are delightful,
however, there is a question.
hey, fantail, what is this display?
why do you keep frolicking with me?]
Vaughan Rapatahana (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Te Whiti) commutes between homes in Hong Kong, Philippines, and Aotearoa New Zealand. He is widely published across several genre in both his main languages, te reo Māori and English and his work has been translated into Bahasa Malaysia, Italian, French, Mandarin, Romanian, Spanish, Esperanto. He is the author and editor/co-editor of over 50 books. He won the AAALS Indigenous Poetry Prize in 2026. New Zealand Book Council Writers File is https://www.read-nz.org/writer/rapatahana-vaughan/
