heart runs full

my heart runs full
like Hokianga Harbor
like Akarora Bay
Milford Sound
New Brighton Beach
Raglan
during high tide at a full moon

my heart sings
like a Te Matatini festival
like a Maori Anglican church service
like a kapa haka practice
in Raglan
and Christchurch
like a waiata at a Maori graduation
like a waiata at a kura kaupaapa
like a waiata at Ngaa Peka Maatauranga

my heart reflects the joy
of the haka
of the powhiri at a marae
te waananga
kura kaupaapa
kohunga reo

my eyes shine like the stars on a clear night
in Opononi
in Raglan at a Fulbright friend's bach
like the eyes of the children
because of the child who hung out a school window
and shouted--hello George Ann Gregory
still my favorite acknowledgement of fame
because of my colleagues of Te Whare Waananga o Waitaha

my heart beats with the ebbs and flows of a far away ocean tide
with the voices of the Kai Tahu of Dunedin
with the voices of a small Maori Anglican Church
with the voices of children
asking me--what kinds of animals do you have
what was the plane ride like
with the stories of Maori
and one Moriori
a talented moko maker
with the guitar strokes of waiata
makers young and old

now my heart lies
forever encircled
by the entertwining of the fern
and the feather