Ka Eke Ki Wairaka

Ka Eke Ki Wairaka

Ka eke ki Wairaka ka tahuri whakamuri,
Kâti ko te aroha te tiapu i Kakepuku
Kia rere arorangi te tihi ki Pirongia
Kei raro koe Toko, taku hoa tungâne
Nâku anô koe i huri ake ki muri
Môkai te ngâkau te whakatau iho
Kia pôruatia e awhi-â-kiri ana.
Kotahi koa koe i mihia iho ai
Ko taku tau whanaunga nô Toa i te tonga
Nô Mania i te uru, ka pça tâua.
I ngâkau nui ai he mutunga mahi koe.
Kâti au ka hoki ki taku whenua tupu,
Ki te wai koropupû i heria mai nei
I Hawaiki râ anô e Ngâtoro-i-rangi
E ôna tuâhine Te Hoata u Te Pupû
E hû râ i Tongariro, ka mahana i taku kiri.
Nâ Rangi mai anô nâna i mârena
Ko Pihanga te wahine, ai ua, ai hau,
Ai marangai ki te muri e
Kôkiri!

On the summit of Wairaka, as I turn for one last look,
My sorrow and love burst forth,
Take flight over Kakepuku hill,
Soar up to the heights of Pirongia
And to you below there, Toko, my cousin and lover.
I was the one who turned away-
How slavish and cowardly not to seek
Two more nights of close embraces!
It is you alone who have my heart.
O my love, my kinsman, descended from Toa in the south,
From Mania in the west, we were well matched.
I wanted to end my days with you,
But now I go back to my own country,
To the boiling springs that Ngatoroirangi,
With his sisters Te Hoata and Te Pupu,
Brought from Hawaiiki,
Bubbling up at Tongariro to warm my body.
It was our father the Sky who married Tongariro to Pihanga,
Making the rain, the winds and the western storms.
Go forth, my love!