ko te tangata te utu

Māori Battalion march to victory

Māori Battalion march to citizenship

Māori Battalion march to ???

Take the honour of the people with you

But pay the price

price

price

price

price

price

Ko te tangata te utu

It is rent or food this week

Kids to kura, they will get a kai there…

maybe

Hīkoi to a minimum wage

Hīkoi to ask for help

Hīkoi to the repo of whakamā

Maybe they will see me

and maybe they will remember whose land

they are on

Ko te tangata te utu

Go into the whare miere they said

Walk those steps

Get knocked down those steps

Slippery steps

Slippery people

These steps are too jagged for

brown feet and toes

For brown hearts and souls

Ko te tangata te utu

We hīkoi and hīkoi. Then and

now, again and again

We hīkoi with flags and tears

and aspirations

We hīkoi with tīpuna struggles

and tīpuna dreams

With mokopuna eyes and

mokopuna feet

Feet swollen by the weight of

was, what is and what will be.

Ko te tangata te utu

nā Kahurangi Waititi