POETRY BY EMA I'U
I've always had a passion for writing little sayings, lyrics and stories. In the last couple of years I have been drawn to Poetry. I am happy to be sharing them with you in this one place.
Mother's Tongue
Since I was Young
I have always wondered
with a bit of bitterness…
Why did my mother
Not teach me her mother tongue?
Aisēa?
Why did she Not - feed me the words
That flow through her blood
Mind, heart and soul
And in her Dreams?
Aisēa?
It would have been So much easier.
For my young mind to connect those words
To meaning
And cast a Million lines
That could Hold
So
Much
More.
Aisēa!
But Once, my Mother…
She told me.
She said
First…
I want you to Know one Language… Well.
Though that was a Good answer,
I have never been content.
What Hard Work I must Do.
Until now, I never knew what she meant.
I think she meant...
Master One Language.
First.
Take this English
And break it down
Back to the roots.
Take these words
and Know their multiple meanings.
Know their Shapes and Structures.
Forwards and Backwards
and All around.
And then you can Use them wisely
To craft your Stories.
So now I’m a grown woman
And I am still no Master
Of the English Language.
But I think I Know the Power one has
When One Does.
So now today, I am a Grown Woman
And I have no excuses.
My Mother Tongue
Is my Responsibility.
And I must work it into my schedule.
I Know.
And now today, I am a Grown Woman.
And I have started my journey with The Reo.
And it is Changing my Life...
One.
Word.
At.
A.
Time.
My Names
There is weight in a Name.
There is Power.
I used to wonder...
Why did my mother give me My Names?
Why Ema?
Plain old boring Ema?
And not even spelt the normal way!
I wish I had a prettier name.
But now I Know...
It’s my Aunty’s name
My Great Grandmother...
You see We pass on family names
Like eirlooms
So They Live on.
We are named after a German Queen...
Ema is short for Emmanuel
Which is also my Brother’s name.
A way to say God With Us
My second name is I’u.
Why I’u?
I used to dispear as a teenager.
My friends used to tease me
I’ o I’ o I’ o like the donkey.
Why just 2 vowels mamma
Please... Why!!!?
Poor me.
Especially for a little palangi girl
Curly blonde locks with Green Eyes.
But you know this Name?
It’s short for I’uogafa.
My Uncle’s name.
My Grandfathers name...
It means the End.
The End of a BloodLine.
It is the End of All Ends
...And The Beginning.
It is pure Death
And pure Life.
When the women of our village
Hear this Name...
They weep.
It is Ancient
And it is Powerful.
My name is I’u
So everyone knows
I am my Uncle’s name sake.
Now I carry this Proudly.
Good luck
Making fun of My Name now.
I will stare Death
Straight into your Soul.
Hahaha Ha!!!
My Third Name is Patricia.
A name my father’s mother wanted for me.
I am born on Saint Patrick’s Day.
I am Irish.
With the Red in My Hair
And Jump in my Skip.
The Noble.
And my Last name...
Is Barton.
Like my father’s father’s fathers...
Very English
And Proper
And Strong.
Like a barn that holds the barley
That keeps us aLive through winter.
These are My Names.
What are Yours?
I can recommend getting to Know Your Names.
Be Proud of Your Names.
Don’t Change them for Anyone.
Unless You want to.
You might just
Understand
Yourself
A little
bit
better.
By Ema I'u Patricia Barton.
Guardians
On my most recent trip to my Mother Land,
I had the privilege
Of reconnecting with some Old Trees.
I knew these Wise Old Guardians
Had seen So Much
Hundreds
Thousands
Of Tales they must have.
I know my Ancestors
Must have touched them
Loved Them
Spoke to them of their Problems
And lived out their Lives
Under,
Around
In front of these Trees.
I can’t Wait to ask them
For Stories of my Great Grandmothers...
For advice
For Knowledge
If they so wish to Share with me.
But Today
I am back home in Aotearoa
And I can’t help thinking
Of all the Ancient Ones
Of the Kauri
And I wonder why are you losing your Light?
I feel a Great Sadness for them.
In my Dreams I ask them.
How can we Help?
Sometimes I hear their Whispers
In the breeze
I feel a hum
A Vibration from their Rings.
They are not pleased with our Progress.
They watch in Sadness as we continue to dwell in the Dark Ages
In our ignorance
Forgetting our Glorious Past
Spoiling Our Blessed Future
They are disappointed.
They remember when we were Warriors
When the Wise Mother’s ruled
And kept Balance
When our Strong Father’s
We’re so Honoured
The Kauri would offer up their bodies
To build the Waka
Which could sail the Seven Seas
Seven Fold
And we could Always
Find Our Way Home.
We have Forgotten our Sacred Bond
With Papatūānuku And All Her Creatures
We stay silent as they Cut Down Our Bodies.
Our Own Flesh and Blood.
We stay stagnant
As the Wairua which feeds us All
Carries Poison
Into our Children’s Mouths.
Can’t you feel it?
The Pain is everywhere.
Our Sisters and Brothers
Would rather return to Source
Than live with this Pain.
You should listen to The Kauri.
We are running out of Time.
Muse
I don’t know if you know...
But my Love is a bad-ass mofo on the 6 string.
And if the setting is just right
And the stars are aligned
He can blow minds and break hearts
Just with his feel
With his touch
With his favourite language.
It is a pleasure to take in.
Sometimes I’m in a different room
And I think what is that track playing?
But then I realise it’s just him.
Practicing a song
Like it’s a finished record
It amazes me how something as simple
As two chords
In any other hands
Sounds like... well
Two chords
But with him
It’s some kind of magic dance.
It’s beautiful music.
I admire his talents.
I know it comes from Love
But it also comes from hard work.
He will listen to a song
And ‘nail’ the tone.
He will do Everything he can
Until he is content
And then some more.
That’s what I Love.
And then I see him on that stage.
And he is free
He is flowing with the muse
And he looks up at me and smiles
And I know...
That solo
That outrageously fanging show
Tonight...
that was for me.
Saturn
Last night lying in bed at 3.03 I pondered...
In the beginning.
When we first and ever became Us
You and I.
At what point did I Know
To come up with
Time.
How did I know?
It might have been luck of the draw
or Much More...
Who Remembers.
I guess it was when I started measuring the Distance between you and I.
And within that space was Something
We could Name and Be.
A place we learnt how to Talk.
That conversation turned into a Song...
Through endless Cycles...
We made Rhythms and Repeats.
Shapes and form.
Numbers and dance.
The rest is our History.
We make the most beautiful patterns.
Or the opposite.
Everything and nothing is Possible.
And through Time we got to Be and Feel
All of it.
I think Life is best savoured not All At Once.
And though it Is infinite...
Sometimes we chose to forget
and let those moments & memories sink in
and then fade-away through the Ages
To be rediscovered in a different way.
A different Song.
Another Story.
That’s where the Magic Happens.
An endless collection of Stories.
I’m glad we made Time for them All.
That’s the Universe We built together.
Waves
I can’t sleep
I’m too excited
Or anxious
My mind is running Wild
I can hear it trying to process
All the things!
Because this is in Our life time
Although I knew it was coming
Although we all feel it in our bones
Reality is always a surprise
It’s not all bad
It’s not all good
It will hopefully find a balance
Between the ebb and flows
But I feel the tidal waves coming.
I have dreamt of them
In every shape and form
But on a deeper level I’m not afraid
I just am
It just Is
And we get along with it.
I feel more conscious.
I feel like I’m seeing more detail
Hearing more subtleties
The senses are growing
As they should
As they can
And I am eager to help
To grow
To sew my seeds
And cast my lines
Into the web
Of Creators
To the wise mothers
To the masters
To the children
Through Papatūānuku
We shall ground
And expand.
Holding hands together
As we learn
How to
Reconnect.
Before The Moon
I trace my waning memory back to the Old times
Before the Moon
When our people not only looked to the Stars
But could connect the dots
Back to our Origins and beyond
When Wisdom was Universal.
Our Earth was Violent
In her storms
And currents stagnant
We saw many a
Great Calamity and Flood
Then came a Time
When reptiles reigned
Ancient lands were Lost
But with the Great Ship
Locked into place
The Ark of many a Myth
It was a perfect Fit
And brought Balance
To Earths shifting Fires
And settled the tides
That we might Flower
Within the Cycles
Again and again.
And we were pleased.
Some of us look to the Moon
And ponder on its influence.
Some are weary.
Most ignore the Moons Magnificent Purpose.
Some give thanks
For its protection
For its cosmic obit
Watching over us
Waiting
For the night we All Wake.
I See A Woman
I see a Woman
She is staring straight back at me
She is in front of an Ancient Village
Surrounded my snow tipped Mountains
Her beauty is naked
Piercing
Blinding.
She is from my Father’s bloodline.
Her skin is milky
Eyes a blue green... grey
The shape of almonds
Wide
Hair a fiery red...
Aflame in the Sun.
Eurasian.
Her hair is framed with
Magnificent
Fur and Flowers
She is the Shaman.
She does not speak.
I can see her breath
In the cold
But I dare not call her Name
Yet.
Not Yet...
Because when I do.
My work begins.. .
And
Her work continues.
With You
Once there was this time in a heightened state
I told you I crossed multiverses
to Be with You.
Like the Goddess choosing to let go of Her immortality
A Life amongst brighter stars and all else...
To breathe in each and every last mortal moment with You
Here, however brief,
as your One True Love.
And although it may have been crazy talk
Deep down I knew there was some Truth to it
Like there is in any Story.
Every now and then I think I faintly remember parts of that journey.
Not that it matters now.
But bits and bobs
lost memories, lost in translation..
Old Myths and Legends...
Sometimes they spark something,
A flash of recognition
and some how I Know.
What I gave up to be here.
Stuff that dreams are made of.
I can never go back.
But right now in this very moment.
For THIS very specific moment.
She will always Know.
It Was Worth It.
Brothers
This is a message for my brothers with the wandering eye.
If you are lucky enough
To hold the love of a Good Fafine
I ask you...
Why do you cheat on her?
We know all too well of the
Temptations of the flesh.
That is understandable.
Though the hurt is heavy
It’s not always the act itself.
It’s the lying.
Do you think we are stupid?
It brings us great shame
To look you in the eye
And see there is still love.
But you are so weak and scared
To tell us the Truth.
Even when we are lying to ourselves
Deep down we know.
(It’s in our dreams)
It’s not the act itself.
Though it can wear down our pride
and rip open our Hearts
For an infinite time
We are Strong enough to handle that.
We Always Have...
It is the Disrespect.
How dare you whisper sweet nothings into your little sweet hearts ear
And say you don’t love me.
How dare you bring some teine
Into our home
Into our bed
In front of our children
How fucking Dare you.
And how dare you
Look me in the eye
And promise me
It’s the last time
You are going to change...
Do you think we are Stupid?
While we sit here with this pain.
Don’t you know we have to carry on?
We have to be so much stronger
For our aiga
For our home
For our work.
Because we chose to Love You.
And then you dare to think...
We don’t deserve to feel pretty.
Or Young.
Or Wanted...
You think we don’t deserve to be treated
Like Equals.
Like Queens.
While we stretch out our Blood and our Breath
Our Bodies and Souls
To hold this whole world together.
You don’t think we deserve
To be Free.
Because if we left you.
When we really Leave You.
One day, you will know.
What it’s like to lose your True Love.
I am the Manifestation of
My Dreams
I am a cup overflowing
I Am Rainbow Light
I am the Song I’ve always longed to write
To sing
To play
To share.
I am the Beauty
I see in everyone
In everything
I am the Goddess who forgot who she was.
I am the Mother
Of the greatest things to Come
I see my children
My ancestors
I am the Bloodline
Weaving gifts of wisdom
For them to discover
Down the line
I am the Oracle
In the days of Awakening
I am the Master of Laws
And the bender of Truths
I will ride my Great Waves Of belief
Down to the deepest
Of the Deep
I am the Creator
Of Worlds
The Seer Of Signs
I am the Vibration of Love
And when the Time comes
I will Know
How to Read and Speak
Into Action..
My Dreams.
I Am the Manifestation of My Dreams.
The Day I Drowned
I love the West Coast
Rough Waves and Rock Pools
Iron Sand so hot and magnetic
The first time I saw a Black Sand Beach
I thought it was Magic
I never knew it was possible
With dunes so high
We could be on Mars
Sliding and Hopping as the Martians do
There is something about the Ocean for me
Even as a child
I knew one day I would return to her mighty Depths
And She has called to me ever since.
For some reason I thought
At the age of Ten
Surfing her massive waves
On a blow up lilo was a good idea.
I was drawn to the rolling green
They didn’t seem that Big
Until all of a sudden they were Titans
Metres High and I was caught in their grip
(In it’s teeth)
As they curled over me
I saw the shadows of large fish
Schools of them
I couldn’t believe my eyes
I saw the sharp angles of the Great Shark
There was no time for fear.
It was dark
I heard the crashing more than I felt it
Smash smash smash
The weight of the White
Was Awesome
Dragged like a Rag Doll
My legs in her teeth
She was not happy to see me like this.
I thought Ok This Is It.
1, 2, 3, 4...
I can’t remember how many I took.
With each pounding
I gave in
Ok This Is It.
My short life flashed before me
I wasn’t afraid
I was returning home after all.
As I swallowed salt
And danced with the undertow
I thought once more
Ok This Is It.
All I felt was Love
Deep Watery Love.
So I closed my eyes.
...
And then Smack!
I feel the hard Earth under me.
I hear my family yelling
I’ve been spat out on the shore.
No she said.
Today is not your Day.
Go child.
Do your things
Grow into that Woman.
We will see you again.
And so I look at the Ocean
And I hear her calling me Home.
Sometimes throughout my life
I wished I could just walk straight back into her Kingdom.
But I know she would spit me back out.
Go child..
You have work to do.
My Lungs Are Burning
My lungs are burning
Burning
Ash
Cinder
Faster than I can exhale
Longer than I can hold my breath
The sound is deafening
Darkening
Where there was life and vibrant colour
There will be pain
And blackness
I shall scream in rings of smoke
And smother all those sleeping
Can you not feel it?
Do you still go about your day?
I did not ask for this
And in my anger
As the masses sit numb and dumb
Playing with paper & numbers
My children are crying.
With Shame of Your Ignorance
I shall rage on
I will Burn
Until all your paper is dust
And you are nothing
But Fear itself.
And my True
Children
Shall rise from the ashes.
Dear 'Other Woman'
It’s been a long time
But I still think of you.
I wonder how you are
Where you’ve been
And whether you finally
Found true LOVE.
I remember how you tried
To steal my LOVE
You tried so hard.
It never really worked though
Because deep down you know
And you will always know
He is my LOVE
The funny thing is....
He is gone
But I still think of you.
I thought I would hate you
But really I respect you.
I appreciate you took the time
To face me as a woman.
At least you told me your TRUTH.
I wanted to hurt you...
But really I should thank you.
Although I cursed you to your face
And called upon my mothers mothers mother...
I know I didn’t mean it.
I hope you have children.
I hope that you found true LOVE.
If you saw me on the street
Don’t be ashamed.
I would call you my friend.
I would call you my sister.
I know you are more than just
The ‘Other Woman’.
Look Closer
I just thought this leaf looked curious…
Like the river delta
Our life flowing veins
As the lightning strikes
Neurons along the chain
Linking the fabric of Space
Here they all are
The patterns that tell our story
Reflected and repeated
Playing out in infinite waves
The mirror
What do you see
Of the Fires & rhythms to come?
Old and new?
Perhaps ask a leaf
Or anything at all.
