Introduction:

Ko te whakatahe, ko te materoto o te pēpi ka ngau kino nei ki te hākui,ki te matua o taua tamaiti. Heoti anō i te mea he pēpi kāore i tae ki te aotūroa, ko te iwi ahakoa ka aroha atu ki ngā mātua, ka kore pea i rongo i te ngau kino o taua matenga.

Ko te nuinga o ngā oriori he mea titoa mā te tamaiti tonu, te tamaiti ora tonu. Heoi anō atu i ngā waiata tangi ka kore e tino kitea ko ngā oriori hei whakamāriri, hei whakamahu i te mamae o te māmā, o te pāpā, kia tuku atu ai rāua i ō rāua whakaaro, i tō rāua aroha ki ērā o ngā tamariki kua whetūrangihia.

Naia ko E pī, he oriori tuku aroha, tuku whakaaro ki tērā hunga.

Kupu:

E taku pī
Ko tō kunenga mai

I Hawaiki rānō
I kikini nei koe
I roto i te pō koua tupu
Mai raro timu, mai raro take
He kura i tawhito e

E whai atu koe i a Hineātauira
Kauraka rāko Tāne te wheiao
Tē whakaringaringa
Tē whakawaewae
Tē whakakanohi
E te tau
He kura ka huna e

Me noho atu koe
Ki te pātakitaki o ō tūpuna
I Pohutukawa
I te kāhui whetū i te pō
Kia tae raia au
Māhau te waha ka pā mai
‘Tautī mai rā ki tōhoku ware’
I reira ka whakana ai au e Pī
Ko koe te kura i te rangi e…

Translation:

My darling youngling
I reflect on your origins

They begin in Hawaiki
Where you were conceived
I the night full of potential, of growth
To the very genesis of time, to the beginning of all things
You are a treasure from ancient times

You however pursued HIneātauira
Not Tāne the seeker of life
You formed no hands
You formed no feet
You remained faceless
My darling
You are a treasure hidden

Settle on the threshold of your ancestors
In the house of Pōhutukawa
With the multitudes who adorn the night
And wait for my arrival
Let it be your voice that greets me
“Welcome to my house.”
And then I will finally be at peace my youngone
You are the treasure in the heavens

© Charisma Rangipunga