These Are The Words I know (Poem

Kaungame’a, vaka, kainga, ‘ofa, these are some words that I know Mālō e lelei, tokoua, fefe hake, sai pe, these are some words that I know Mana, fefine, kalo, vai, these are some words that I know Sikoti, langi, hafakasi, otai, these are some words that I know

“We’re cousins, you know, we go back thousands of years”, these are some words I didn’t know “We share languages, words, brave navigator histories”, these are some words I didn’t know “Yes - you say mo’unga, we say maunga, And there’s mauna and mo’ua too” “You’re connected to us, we’re related, you know”, these are some words I didn’t know

Four hundred (plus!) languages in the Oceanic Pacific, these are some words I recently learned Twelve hundred languages in the Austronesian language family, these are some words I recently learned From Taiwan to Madagascar, Vanuatu to Rapa Nui, these are some words I recently learned Each one of them a treasure, holding stories, our history, these are some words I recently learned

Your heritage isn’t insignificant, or just a ‘cool fact’, these are some words I wish I’d known We are so much more than ‘small islands’ (but I didn’t learn that), these are some words I wish I’d known “It’s not your fault you didn’t learn your language”, these are some words that I cherish You are not ‘broken’ if you struggle to learn your language, these are some words everyone should know.

Lea Fakatonga, Gagana Samoa.

I don’t know my languages well, sometimes I’m scared I never will But when I do learn new words in my language, it’s the most indescribable thrill And our languages are strong, intricate, magical creatures; but there’s work to be done still Until they are all thriving and no longer threatened -

All thriving, and no longer threatened. I hope that we work until Those are some words that I know.