Matariki Rising

Flag planted,

You declare time terra nullius,

Erasing aeons of southern cycles

Of rising suns, moons and stars,

Flipping constellations,

Deeming them

Non-sensical caricatures

Craving northern regularity

So, you justify

The splitting of space and time,

Ignoring the reality

Of indigenous relativity,

Rendering the gravity

Of whenua and place

Dissonant noise

To exclude and control

Thus, sanctioning

The shackling of te taiao,

Her ebbs and flows seized

By your straight-edged hands,

Slicing seasons

Into mechanised moments,

Taming time’s terrain

With each tick, tick, tick

Your regimented steps

Marched with military precision

Trample Papa and Rangi’s

Knowing, natural rhythms,

Ngā tohu o ngā Āriki

Woven in mōteatea,

Chanted and trusted

For countless generations

Aryan McKay

Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Porou

BA - Honours in Psychology