The Pacific
you call us?
"Tiny islands in a vast sea?"
Nations and territories isolated?
Lonely?
Each isle a paradise?
What fantasy!
What books have you read
what movies have you seen
to think of us as such?
Let me tell you
my dear friend
if you look at our history
and listen to our stories
you will learn there is more to your paradise
than what the Western tales say.
Take out your oar
and step onboard my grand canoe.
In the likes of Cook and Tupaia
we shall sail on this vast ocean
and create from this voyage a map of our own.
Perhaps from the canoe we ride on
all you see is blue
like a desert
waters are barren
hardly a creature in sight.
But come to the ocean deep
and see your Pacific from my eyes.
Underneath the blanket of waves
lies a realm unlike any other.
Islands connect by the remnants of pottery
the tattoos in our skins
the gods in our legends
the design of our canoes
and the words of our tongue
Though our cultures have dispersed and evolved
the sea has always been our common ground.
If you should ever get lost
look up to the celestial heavens
and with the teachings of Mau Piailug
the stars will lead you where you need to go
and the waves that rise will carry you home.
It is wonderful
indeed
but modernization and has not always been kind.
Every so often you'd see ships dwell around
some with cargoes to carry
some with big nets hooked to their cranes.
Watch as they take whatever they can get
sometimes more than they need.
On land you see buildings and resorts
eat away sacred grounds.
Watch the ashes of capitalism
concrete
plastic and gasoline
contaminate the air we breathe
disrupt the ecosystems
separate families
affect communities
and influence cultures that struggle to survive.
Still...
What is not to love about our mother ocean?
It is the road of our ancestors
regardless of the changing times.
We could never ask for anything else.
We could only persevere to keep this ocean
and all its traditions alive.
So take in all that we've seen
and sketch them all onto your page
and when this journey ends
my dear friend
you will never see us lightly again.
In all itʻs faults
its beauty
its triumphs and tragedies
this is "the sea of islands"
our identity
my home
Oceania.
