Orchid Tierney

Haret el Wasser

after Te Whiti

           & Tohu

were taken away

the people 

          remained sitting 

on the marae

I was called 

           by a woman 

      at no. 9 

she had 

        4 soldiers there

the first time

        we were paid

the second time

      they refused

      they left the house 

      the woman 

      banged the door

      & she swore

soldiers entered

            my quarter 

I saw furniture 

thrown 

men

threw her 

out of the window

forced removals 

            began 2 days later

men were removed

their houses 

torn down

     women were raped

     & molested

it was just 

like drafting sheep

references

“Red Blind Street.” The Battle of the Wazzer. Accessed 10 December 2014. http://user.online.be/~ snelders/wozzer/woztest.htm. 

“The Taranaki Report-Kaupapa Tuatahi.” 1996. WAI 143. Muru me te Rauapatu-The Muru and Raupatu of the Taranaki Land and People. Waitangi Tribunal Report. Accessed 12 December 2014. http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/waitangi-tribunal/Reports/wai0143.

Zealandia boasts

1 million yrs ago 

God save the Queen!

           our king 

     Tuitonga 

died— 

     England  

          earth-hungry 

insatiable 

      took 

           13 years 

to send      the flag 

           of Britainnia 

     we are 

afraid 

     lest      some other 

     powerful 

nation 

     should take 

possession 

     of our island

but why doesn’t    noo zilind

take    the whole bloomin lot!

the island 

      without fruit 

the rock 

      stuck 

& could not 

            be raised

it is thus 

      with things 

done wrongly 

            at the present day!

yet 1100 yrs ago

     Niuē has yielded 

almost no return— 

20 members 

     of Parliament 

for a country 

of 600 

      —an abuse  

           & responsibility

there is no realistic 

possibility of Niuē

becoming a self-

sustaining economy 

all hail Zealandia!

we blunder 

            into Empire

& somehence 

1 trillion yrs 

1,256 Niueans convicted

bones unchanged by moss

brave 

          Folitolu 

      Latoatama 

Tamaeli

          rid the land 

of the tyrant

he who growls at 

prisoners & warders

who growls at Tatu 

     to fix up

the golf holes 

           in Foniakula

but Noo Zilind 

       will help Niuē 

her private sector

will grow as large 

      as possible 

the climate is excellent

& retirees bring 

a steady flow

attracting 

     a retirement 

village operator 

is a good

place to start

references

“Inquiry into New Zealand’s relationships with South Pacific countries.” Report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee. December 2010. 

“Our New Possessions. Something About the Islands We Have Annexed.” Evening Post.   25 October 1900, 2. 

Scott, Dick. 1993. Would a good man die? Niue Island, New Zealand and the late Mr. Larsen. Auckland: Hodder & Stoughton.

Smith, Percy S. 1903. Niuē-Fekai (or Savage) Island and Its People. Christchurch: Whitcombe & Tombs.

Thomson, Basil C. 1902. Savage Island: An Account of a Sojourn in Niuē and Tonga. London: John Murray. 

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Orchid Tierney is a New Zealander living in Philadelphia where she attends the University of Pennsylvania. She is an enthusiast of antique furniture.