{"id":812,"date":"2010-07-30T01:00:47","date_gmt":"2010-07-29T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=812"},"modified":"2010-07-29T18:25:54","modified_gmt":"2010-07-29T06:25:54","slug":"new-zealand-national-poetry-day-ti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2010\/07\/30\/new-zealand-national-poetry-day-ti\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand National Poetry Day: “Ti”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ti <\/strong>
\nAkaroa Heads<\/p>\n

Cordyline on a windswept point\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0stark
\neach frond stabbing
\nsharp as a taiaha’s\u00a0 blade
\ndefying the elements
\nfacing down the ocean \u2013 that vast expanse
\nconquered first by Kiwa
\nthe far voyaging \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 salt encrusted
\nsculpted by endless distance
\nalways looking\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0ever longing for land
\nlying over the next line of horizon \u2013
\nthe darker smudge of blue
\nlifting to green above the deep swell
\nthe first sighting\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0eyes shaded
\nof that solitary tree piercing sky
\nabove a coastal headland\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0marking
\nthe moment of transition
\nthe place between.<\/p>\n

(c) Helen Lowe<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

First Published in Blackmail Press<\/em><\/a>, “Crossed Cultures” Special Edition, 18 April 2008
\nRe-published, Crest to Crest: Impressions of Canterbury Prose & Poetry<\/em>, Ed. Karen Zelas, Wily Publications, 2009<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

i) Ti Kouka<\/em>—the Maori name for the NZ ‘cabbage tree’; scientific name Cordyline Australis<\/em>
\nii) Taiaha<\/em>—a Maori stabbing spear, used now in ceremonies of greeting and challenge
\niii) The Maori name for the Pacific ocean is Te Moananui a Kiwa<\/em>, ‘the great ocean of Kiwa’, a mythic voyager<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Friday 30 July is New Zealand’s National Poetry Day<\/strong><\/a> and the Tuesday Poem Blog<\/strong> is stepping out by featuring poems from the 3 finalists in this year’s Poetry Category of the NZ Post Book Awards<\/strong><\/a>. Check it out here<\/strong><\/a> or by clicking on the Quill icon in the sidebar.<\/p>\n

Tuesday Poem Blog poets are joining the celebration by posting a poem with “New Zealand”<\/strong> as a theme—or for poets not from New Zealand—on the joys of poetry and making poems. So have a look<\/a>, have fun, and enjoy the ride!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ti Akaroa Heads Cordyline on a windswept point\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0stark each frond stabbing sharp as a taiaha’s\u00a0 blade defying the elements facing down the ocean \u2013 that vast expanse conquered first by Kiwa the far voyaging \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 salt encrusted sculpted by endless distance always looking\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0ever longing for land lying over the next line of horizon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-funstuff","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":818,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions\/818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}