The Troubled Sleep — A Karakia

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240

The Troubled Sleep
A Karakia

Piki mai! Kake mai!
Homai te waiora ki au,
E tutuhi ana koa
Te moe a te kuia i te po
E papaki tu ana te tangi
A te tai ki te Reinga.
Ka ao! Ka ao!
Ka awatea.—

[Translation]

Come hither! Draw nigh!
Ah! give to me of the waters of life
For troubled has been the sleep
Of the aged at night.
The resistless tide of misfortune
Sweeps on to oblivion
But now! It is dawn! It is dawn!
It is day—

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About this page...

Title: Legends of the Maori (Volume 2)

Author: Maui Pomare

Editor: James Cowan

Part of: New Zealand Texts Collection

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence