Ko au ko koe, ko koe ahau
E nanao atu ana te whatumānawa
Ki te ao tūānewa o te ahoaho tukutuku o mātauranga
Ki te iho o tōku Matua
Ki tōku Māori mana motuhake, ki tōku Whātuiāpititanga
E kimi nei, e hāhau nei
Ki te whakamau i te pae tāwhiti kia tata
E whakamau ai i te pae tata kia tīna
Tēnei au, te purapura tea
I rūia e tōku whānau
E tūngia ururoa, e tūngia urunui
O tēnei ao ōhanga
Anei āku ringa rapa e raurehe nei
Ki te whatuhia i te kākahu
E uhi tai, he uhi tai
E tauawhihia ai tōku pori
Mei ka noho, koinei te whakaruruhau
E hua ai tōku iwi, Māori e
I am you and you are me
My heart reaches and grasps
To this particular world that encompasses the sacred thread of knowledge and the challenges that arise with it.
It grasps my identity
It grasps my Māori righteousness
Thus I search, I strive
To be able to hold my dreams and aspirations that lay at the horizon, grasp them so they may be close to me
I hold them close and thus they are embedded within
So here I stand the unobstructed seed
That has been sewn by my family
They remove all obstructions of this world of trial
Here are my hands
That sews and weaves a feathered cloak
That will be bestowed, bestowed without doubt
To assist ad care for my community
Thus, this cloak may rest as a refuge so my tribe and Māori people may flourish.
TE WHAKAMĀRAMA
Nei ka noho ki tōku taumata, ka titiro iho ki te ao e hurihuri nei. I ahu mai te kaupapa o tēnei tuhinga, i a au e whakaaro ana ki tōku oranga, tōku whānau, ā, ki ngā piki heke o tēnei ao hoki. Ko tēnei kaupapa e piri tata ki tōku ngākau, i te mea ko tōku whānau tērā e kōrerohia nei e au. Koinei wōku wawata, kia tāea e au te whakahoki i ngā mihi ki a rātou. Anō nei te nui o te aroha kua homaitia e rātou. Ko tāku, kia whakahoki ai aua mihi whakanui, kia tū au hai poutokomanawa mo tōku whānau, mo tōku pori, tae noa ki tōku hapu, tōku iwi hoki. Nō reira, koinei tāku whakatau i tēnei kaupapa.