He Pakiwaitara
This short piece has been written by Heather Thomson, member of the Consumer Advisory Committee and the Māori Advisory Caucus, PHARMAC.
Wairua
‘Koro, what is wairua?’the child asked, eyes wide.
‘Wairua, my moko is what gives us life,
Handed down to us from a time past.
At the moment of your beginning,
You shared with me the wairua of our tipuna;
For I am your link with the past
You are my place in the future.
The aroha of the whanau has wairua
And their words, their laughter, their tears.
The marae, tangi, waiata and whakapapa,
Have a wairua that strengthens us , gives us pride.
So too the sunrise and sunset,
The soft summer rain, the raging storm,
The song of the birds in the trees,
The waves on the beach,
The mist rising from the bush,
The moonlight on the water,
And the embracing darkness of the night.
‘To sit quietly in the wharenui or the urupa,
And feel the presence of your tipuna is to feel wairua.
Your arms about my neck , your breath on my cheek,
Fills me with a special wairua.
For there is wairua in all things that give meaning to life,
To love , to the future.
So moko, open your mind,
Let your heart love,
Your eyes see,
Your ears hear
Your hands feel.
Give of yourself, my moko,
For in giving you receive
And the wairua grows”
Heather Delamere Thomson