Kohinga

POETRY / TE AO MĀORI | ISSUE SEVEN | MATARIKI

Written by Koromiko Jacob-Williams (she/her) | @koromikoz | Contributing Writer

We are star cluster, sisters 

He kohinga 

A collection of light with

Magic dusted on eyelids 

the neon lights glowing 

Slowing 

Time 

We watch the sky blackout 

Midnight matching our cycles 

It is quiet and chaotic

Te Marama, a guide

We change 

We wane 

We take over the city connected 

Hei kotahi 

We return to each other under the blanket of hōtoke

And watch the dawn drag Tamanuiterā into the sky 

Sunrise chilling

Mornings bundled in mums fur coats 

Out late until we are out early

And streetlights begin sending morse code 

As a reminder to come home 

Star cluster, sisters 

He kohinga

We send affirmations to the whetū

And predict with the flip of another tarot reading 

A mirror of our tūpuna 

Ancestors reading the sky and waves like a map 

Us, reading the cards like an outline for our lives 

Reflection muddled by a city that hasn’t made space 

For mātauranga or mornings like these before

Where we turn our heads to the skies 

Finding parts of them written up there

with predictions of the new year 

Star cluster, sisters

He kohinga

Who find whenua within themselves while away from te hau kāinga

their

Kōwhai sticky lip gloss

Kauri trunk thighs 

Kawakawa curved and soothing 

The low energy days 

Where the veil between wairua and oranga is thinned out 

And Pōhutukawa calls her karanga 

Pulling wairua forward 

And backwards

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua

We wait for pīwaiwaka to come through the doorway

Listen for the hum of feathers dancing

Fading into our Kuia calling her karanga 

A message to return home

Star cluster, sisters

He kohinga

We celebrate the new year beneath skyscrapers built on buried pasts 

And feel the weight of whēnua and urban city living 

Where nights are made for dancing 

And mornings are made for unlearning 

The stars shine without sunlight 

And like them, we do too

Escaping into the fog of machines

The echo of home is loud over the music 

Here, we bring whakapapa with us 

To the front of the crowd

And watch the stars from the top of city towers and Tāmaki maunga 

Our guides for reflection 

We see ourselves in them 

Star cluster, sisters

He kohinga whetū

Laughter booming, flowing like the rivers of Waitī

Bellowing, 

big and broken-hearted waves of Waitā

Dripping tears as we change and mirror the droplets of Waipuna-ā-rangi 

Find our grounding rooted in the whēnua of whānau 

Through the trees climbed in girlhood, scraped knees

Head in the sky, until mum pulls us back down for kai

Tupuānuku and Tupuārangi keep us fed and fuelled for whatever the new year throws at us 

Through the smoke clouds bringing nightfall, as the winds of Ururangi whip at us 

We mourn and miss our mate, returning home to Pōhutukawa

Taking our time to sit in the memories 

We look on to Hiwa-i-te-rangi 

Bundle all our wishes and affirmations and send them out  

Like texts to your sisters 

Manifesting between the ping of another prayer that it’ll get better 

Matariki e manaaki i ngā tuāhine

She who cares for the 

Star cluster, sisters 

He kohinga whetū 

A time for rest 

For reflection 

For hopes and dreams 

Matariki makes space for city hine, 

Sisters 

Made stars by the glow of night 

and the buzz of morning 

Dawn ceremony karakia 

Recentering our wairua 

The spirits that echo both here and there 

Te ao mārama and te pō uriuri

Where we plant rākau for tomorrow and see

Whēnua as kaitiaki, not just an asset 

Giving back to the hand that feeds us 

Matariki is where urban city hine 

Finds her place 

And is reminded that we are star cluster, sisters 

He kohinga whetū