New Zealand Verse/The Curse of Tuhotu
LXXXI.
The Curse of Tuhotu.
Woe to the seekers of pleasure!
Woe to the Maori race!
Woe to this time and place!
For filled is the wrathful measure,
And Vengeance cometh apace;
Only a little space,
And a man will give all his treasure
To be hid from the angry face
Of a justly-incensed God!
The earth shall quake at His nod,
And the hills dissolve in fire
Before His enkindled ire!
Woe to the Maori race!
Woe to this time and place!
For filled is the wrathful measure,
And Vengeance cometh apace;
Only a little space,
And a man will give all his treasure
To be hid from the angry face
Of a justly-incensed God!
The earth shall quake at His nod,
And the hills dissolve in fire
Before His enkindled ire!
Woe to Wairoa the gay!
I see her at close of day,
Go like a child to sleep;
I see her, ere morning breaks,
Wake, as a madman wakes
From a dream of the nethermost deep!
I see her at close of day,
Go like a child to sleep;
I see her, ere morning breaks,
Wake, as a madman wakes
From a dream of the nethermost deep!
The earth is rent asunder,
The heavens are black as a pall;
The bright flames rise and fall;
Deep rumblings come from under,
While high in air,
’Mid the lightning’s glare,
Bellows the angry thunder!
Wairoa is gone—is fled—
The wicked ones all are dead!
The heavens are black as a pall;
The bright flames rise and fall;
Deep rumblings come from under,
While high in air,
’Mid the lightning’s glare,
Bellows the angry thunder!
Wairoa is gone—is fled—
The wicked ones all are dead!
Woe to Ariki the proud!
Humbled shall be her pride.
She smiles on the fair hill-side:
But I see the gathering cloud—
I hear the mutterings loud.
O God ! the cloud has burst!
In a rain of living fire
I see Ariki expire,
By sloth and sin accurst!
Humbled shall be her pride.
She smiles on the fair hill-side:
But I see the gathering cloud—
I hear the mutterings loud.
O God ! the cloud has burst!
In a rain of living fire
I see Ariki expire,
By sloth and sin accurst!
Woe unto Moura, woe!
She is dreaming of peace and rest,
Like a bird in its quiet nest,
While the blue lake lies below.
Her sons to folly wander;
The stranger’s gold they claim;
To the stranger’s vice they pander—
They sell her daughters’ shame!
God stamps His foot in anger,
The earth’s foundations shake:
For Moura weep,
She lieth deep
In Tarawera’s lake!
She is dreaming of peace and rest,
Like a bird in its quiet nest,
While the blue lake lies below.
Her sons to folly wander;
The stranger’s gold they claim;
To the stranger’s vice they pander—
They sell her daughters’ shame!
God stamps His foot in anger,
The earth’s foundations shake:
For Moura weep,
She lieth deep
In Tarawera’s lake!
Waitangi, thy waters of wailing
Are lamenting, unavailing,
Too late to avert thy doom!
Too late doth thy conscience waken,
For, in sin and shame o’ertaken,
Thy glory shall sink in gloom!
Mourn, ye weeping waters,
The fate of your sons and daughters
Who sleep in a nameless tomb!
Are lamenting, unavailing,
Too late to avert thy doom!
Too late doth thy conscience waken,
For, in sin and shame o’ertaken,
Thy glory shall sink in gloom!
Mourn, ye weeping waters,
The fate of your sons and daughters
Who sleep in a nameless tomb!
Deep and eternal shame,
Bitter and endless woe,
To each tribe of ancient name!
They shall perish in vengeful flame,
And sink to the realm of Po!
Weep, Ngatitoi, Tuhourangi,
Weep for Wairoa, Waitangi,
Ariki, and Moura the fair;
They have drunk of the wine of Pleasure,
And now they must drain a measure
Of Sorrow and dire Despair;
They have heard with scoffs and scorning
The voice of solemn warning;
God striketh, and will not spare!
Bitter and endless woe,
To each tribe of ancient name!
They shall perish in vengeful flame,
And sink to the realm of Po!
Weep, Ngatitoi, Tuhourangi,
Weep for Wairoa, Waitangi,
Ariki, and Moura the fair;
They have drunk of the wine of Pleasure,
And now they must drain a measure
Of Sorrow and dire Despair;
They have heard with scoffs and scorning
The voice of solemn warning;
God striketh, and will not spare!