Tuesday Poem: Kawerua

waves,
     the curl-embrace
     warm wet
     inside of a baby's mouth

waves. a food-laden table
      on the beach,
      gathering whanau
      like bees

waves. the voices of the ancestors
     return
              again and again
              to speak to us

waves. "we are here!" we say
            "we are here!"
            "we are here!" three times

on the first day it rains
on the second, it's sunny.

the waves come to catch us
         play between our feet
                                           laughing