Old man chanting in the dark HT

from rain​-​talk and fever by Andrew Macann

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Old man chanting in the dark
Hone Tuwhare

Small Holes in the Silence
Collected works
Godwit
© The Estate of Hone Tuwhare

lyrics

OLD MAN CHANTING IN THE DARK

Where are the men of mettle?
are there old scores
left to settle?
when will the canoes leap
to the stab and kick
the sea-wet flourish
of pointed paddles?
will the sun play again
to the skip of muscles
on curved backs bared
to the rain's lash
the sea's punch?
to War! To War!

where are the proud lands
to subdue - and women?
where are the slaves
to gather wood for the fires
stones for the oven?
who shall reap
the succulent children whimpering
on the terraced hill-top?

no more alas no more
no raw memory left
of these
nor bloody trophies:
only the fantail's flip
to cheeky war-like postures
and on the sand-hill
wry wind fluting
the bleached bones marrowless

credits

from rain​-​talk and fever, released November 7, 2016

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Andrew Macann Auckland, New Zealand

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