The Wa’a (Canoe)

The Wa’a (Canoe)
by George Burnette

Simple magnificence
‘Elepaio picks the one
Soon to be the wa'a
The process has begun

The modern unknown to Lea
The koa so preferred
From the hillside comes the call
I Ku Mau Mau is heard

The tree has been selected
Kanealuka is the guide
Kalai wa'a is the maker
Who hollows out inside

All has been created
A year has been the time
The ‘Iako and the ama
The journeys’ time arrived

From the ages now past
Lives Polynesian lore
Upon the ocean traveled
Three thousand years and more

From Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
Eastward Tahiti, Hawai `i north
The ways of Navigators
Nearly lost, but now come forth

The sun and stars, and currents and swells
Clouds and birds, the ancient clues
The Navigator’s knowledge
The path of the crew

Moana knows no faces
Blades of paddles pull the wai
Or sails of leaves pandanus
As the wa’a travels by

With beauty so unbounded
Whether darkness or sunlight
The wa’a moves undaunted
The crew takes such delight

But the ocean bears no folly
Kanaloa is on the watch
Misfortune plays no favorites
And so many have been lost

Today sails Hōkūleʻa
The traditions now reborn
The world her crew will visit
With such lessons to be learned

But the Earth is our canoe
And all have caught the ride
Should not we sail together
Or paddle side by side

If we chose to blend our paddles
Or unfurl our sails as one
Ke Akua as ho’okele
We all could then find home