Haka
By Kyra Shaughnessy

touch your brow to mine
lean in
cup the base of my skull
with one graceful, brown hand
so similar to my own

rest the other 
on my shoulder
hold me here
in this inviolable space
let our hearts
become cradles
for something shared
something eternal
something that knows
I am a precious
beloved sister
not some stranger
in a hotel hallway
weeping in witness 
of the raw, red earth
flowing through you
as we breathe in 
each other’s souls
and the tears 
run like rivers
from my eyes

sisters
here we are powerful 
we are tender 
we are sacred
sisters, here we are
powerful, tender, sacred...
thank you. 
I will never again 
doubt the beauty in our strength

“Haka” is an original piece not previously published, inspired by a performance by New Zealand group MĀMĀ MIHIRANGI & the MĀREIKURA that honoured missing and murdered indigenous women.

Growing up I was exposed to many images and films showing the Haka ceremony, all performed by exclusively male groups. While deeply moved by these ceremonies, it seemed clear from what I was seeing that this was, yet again, a male warrior tradition. The warrior archetype I found everywhere - from history books to artwork to the media - did not include women. End of story. In 2019 I had the immense honour of witnessing the women's Māori group Māmā Mihirangi & the Māreikura perform a Haka ceremony in honour of missing and murdered indigenous women. The experience was nothing if not utterly transformational. Aside from the raw power and beauty of the ceremony itself, my personal connection as an ally to the missing and murdered indigenous women's movement and my experience of marginalisation as a racialized woman, this was the first time the warrior in me found herself represented in the outside world, after a lifetime of struggling to accept her own physical and internal strength in a culture that does not validate those aspects of femininity. I was also blessed to have a profound exchange with the performers after the ceremony, which I describe in this poem, Haka. I am deeply grateful for having been present that day and for having received what feels like a profound, multilayered personal healing.

Kyra Shaughnessy’s music and writing invoke presence and awakening. Of mixed heritage, born, raised and homeschooled in Québec, composing in multiple languages across genres, Kyra’s work represents a unifying vision of humanity through an artistic practice grounded in a holistic perspective of healing and respect for the interconnectedness of all life. Find her at www.kyrashaughnessy.com