So beautiful and free
What is it that connects you and me?
Is it my heritage?
Or is it the sea?
I've seen your many faces in a storm
And through the blistering heat
I have felt your frost upon my feet
And still you are so beautiful to me.
The pohutukawas that shower your landscape
With crimson red like a sunset.
I've walked your hills,
Fished your waters,
Swam your rivers,
And have slipped on your black sand.
I know of a place where the flounders roam
Of a giant, a stone lizard
And a taniwha hole
Where time stands still
Where your people chant and sing their songs
Of your mountains
And of ancestors passed on
Aotea Aotea
You'll always be home to me
No matter where I roam
My heart yearns
My thoughts turn
And I'm glad to see you
And my Uncle John ...
by Davis Apiti
