makipai a karoro
Authors Note: With the title Makipai a Karoro translating to Magpie and Crow and hoa meaning friend in English, this poem captures a back-and-forth between two common birds native to New Zealand and Australia: the magpie and the crow. The magpie, associated with New Zealand here, and the crow, a symbol of Australia, form the foundation of the piece. By incorporating native Māori language in the title and references to these birds, the title and poem (written in New Zealand) aim to explore the subtle connection and even rivalry between these creatures, just as there are cultural exchanges and contrasts between the lands they inhabit.
Lily’s original formatting of Makipai a Karoro
Ah, mi hoa, you would have
loved the black streaks that
the magpies’ fashion.
You always say I’m the
pot that calls the kettle
black, just like these
white-winged angels.
Their shadows blend with
wings, dance in both the night and
light; a monochrome symphony
beneath the dusky coastal sky.
One sits among the
moonlit trees, while
it listens to its neighbor
beg for dusk’s attention.
The figure swoops down toward
the dewy fields, barely
missing my ear, singing its
chorus of Australian nightfall.
Inking the full moon that
the lowly crow now mourns,
the devil’s advocate goes
on to take back the forest.
You would have said how I
am always taking over everything
all around me, but maybe I’m
merely just the magpie to your crow.
Hoa, you would have
loved the ode to loneliness of
the southern hemisphere crows here.