I met Mother Taro once,
She is an angel you know
I saw her in the greenery of
John Pia's Taro Patch.
She dawned the past, the present
and the future
More plant than woman,
and yet more root than angel wing--
Though her heart shaped wings
Repelled water as well
as any albatross or nene.
A rare bird in spirit.
She shared her plight to me
Of this modern time,
Watching the changes
In the faces of human kind
She remembers being a Goddess
And providing for all the people
In a time where she
traveled with the people
Over waters near and far
In double hulled canoe
To share her spirit
With new families.
And now, she feels like a myth
Told and retold by the elders
Alive more in the memories
And less on the land.
As she spoke, the message
Became more and more clear.
When might and power and greed and money
Seem of more value than
Root, wing, earth and pluck
We must take the time,
take the time
To tend each keiki and tend with care
So they may multiply
In healthy soil, water and air
So We the Living
Can live into eternity
For the winds of time
Will spite the might,
She said.
Seize this time
Seize this day,
Seize this moment
to tend
We the Living.
May John Pias Taro Patch live on into eternity.