Waiata 26: He mea whakamāori, nā ngā Waiata a Wiremu Hākipia
A translation into Māori of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 26
Kei te ariki o tōku aroha, ko tōku ponongatanga
Hei awhenga tauherea ki tōu rangatiratanga.
Ki a koe ka tuku au i te karere nei,
Hei tohu i te pononga, kāore i te tātākī:
Ko te pononga kaha rawa atu — engari, i tōku kūare,
I tōku arero paremo, he hore kau te āhua nei —
Heoi anō tāku he tūmanako kau, kia ohia ai tōu ngākau
Kia pātakahia tāku (he tahanga noa iho nei)
Kia menemene mai rā anō ki ahau
Ko tērā whetū kamokamo e ārahi ana i tōku haere,
Kia kākahu anō ia i tōku aroha kanukanu
Kia whakaatu i tōku whaitake ki tōu whaiwhakaaro reka,
Hei taua wā anō ka whakamanamana i tōku nei aroha ki a koe;
I mua ia ko tāku he huna ūpoko kau i tōu aroaro whakawā.
Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage
Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit,
To thee I send this written embassage,
To witness duty, not to show my wit:
Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine
May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it,
But that I hope some good conceit of thine
In thy soul’s thought, all naked, will bestow it:
Till whatsoever star that guides my moving,
Points on me graciously with fair aspect,
And puts apparel on my tottered loving,
To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:
Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee;
Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.
Image: Norman Mitchell Hunter, ‘Pātaka or Whata (Māori storehouse) Ōhinemutu’, 1882, Alexander Turnbull Library. Catalogue entry here.