A Poem for Mana
It’s a twisted tail you follow to reach Mana’s guardianship,
a rhythmic rise and fall of tarmac
blind corners gifting you poetic visuals;
the journey alone speaks volumes
that once you crawl inside Mana’s dome,
you bathe within a perfect blend of earth, sky and sea.
Moored beneath this protective film
Nestled halfway to the salty brine
and halfway to the scattered moon dust that is the night sky,
you will find the womb
the chamber loaded with human hearts pumping, magnificent bird song and wild spring winds.
A few moments within Mana’s wooden structure,
and bare feet to the land
you are gifted a soft demand to pay attention to your senses;
it is here time is without constant measure, where you are reminded of the power of a seed.
Beneath this honey comb exists a perfect tangle of power chords
made of bones and tree roots,
fertile soil and history’s stream soaked through;
these chords charge the soles of feet that walk atop
giving them thrust to dance, create, connect, and continue the simple recipe that keeps us fed here:
pulling a root from the ground,
to find it nourishes my cells hours later;
gather and embrace spontaneously
make music with curious fingers
then use them to pick flowers for new faces,
wash your spirit in movement
look up to a Kauri tree and understand your place —
sit in stillness.
But what binds this recipe,
what infuses vitality and joy in its kin
is the simplicity
that keeps the land green and gracious.
The potent aroha
that keeps you warm and content,
a vision, grounded and grateful —
and the Mana
is what you simply cannot describe
but hear in every tui song, taste in the blessed kai, smell from every forage, feel on every forest floor,
what you see in your periphery just beyond sight.
E hoa ma, ina te ora o te tangata
My friends, this is the essence of life
Written by: Vida McCord
Vida is under the spell of the mountains and lives in Wanaka, New Zealand, while freelance copywriting and studying Naturopathy. She is a creative writer at heart who loves to encapsulate our human experiences through writing. Vida has spent time at Mana where she wrote this poem and now supports the team with online content.
