I am coffee breaks, mountain lakes, dew drops on a punga fern,
Gale nor’westers, flunked semesters, my daughter’s hand on mine,
I am fresh snow, the Fairlie Show, frosty football grounds,
My Mother’s worries, ten thousand durries, let’s do another line.

I am knee scrapes, cassette tapes, Dad’s got six months left,
The Kaimai Range, a southerly change, Lange at the Union,
I am road trips, Popsicle sticks, diving off the wharf,
Arcades, dawn raids, Blood of Christ Communion.

I am dairy cows, wedding vows, the bully and the bullied,
Land marches, golden arches, bonfires at the beach,
I am secret drinking, slipshod thinking, we’re better off apart,
Onion dip, a swollen lip, the brown spot on a peach.

I am waka, I am bark, I am steamer, I am jet,
I am discord, I am union, I am service, I am sweat,
I’m the hopeful, I’m the hopeless, the righteous and the damned,
I’m te tangata, te whenua, the people and the land.