And every time I hear someone waxing lyrical about the reo skills of Pākehā like Guyon Espiner, it presses something sharp and vicious into that knot of guilt.
I bear Guyon no ill will, nor Lorde for that matter — quite the opposite. If te reo Māori is to thrive, it will need to be spoken by New Zealanders from many walks of life.
But their very public actions juxtaposed with my own inaction makes that knot in me pulsate with a shameful fury. It pains me. Sometimes it’s like the knot has travelled up through my wooden insides and lodged in my throat.
I know that my pain is not anyone’s fault (other than that bitch, Colonisation) so I usually try not to let it show. I am careful not to let it make me bitter, though bitterness is very much its prevailing flavour.
- Moata Tamaira
Kā Pākihi Whakatekateka o Waitaha | Canterbury | Christchurch City | 2020-29 | Lorde releases te reo mini album (2020-29) | Whānau & community
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