World

Stone, rain, sea, hill —
they have their way, they have their say.
Wind has a goal, tree has a will.
Sing the ceiling of starlight and sunlight,
and sing the feeling of sandhill and tussock
and cloud, sky, wood, clay, world.

Work, watch, love, save.
Here is the time, now is the place.
See what we have, see what we’ve lost.
Sing the colours of thunder and sunrise,
and sing the shimmer of bellbird and blackbird
and moon, lake, tree, day, world.

Blue, gold, red, green
melt in our eyes, wake up the day,
mix up the night, violet and grey.
Sing the circle of trumpets and colours,
and sing the silver of dreamers and lovers,
and stone, rain, cloud, clay, world.

Dark, day, fire, hail.
Here is the time, now is the place.
They have their will, they have their way.
Sing the measure of solstice and winter,
and sing the seasons of stretching and waiting,
and sea, moon, rain, sand, world.

~ Rachel McAlpine CC BY 2.0

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NOTE: “World” is one of 14 New Zealand poems in the song cycle Shaky Places.

Video of Capital Choir performing the song composed by Felicia Edgecombe