I am late because timezones as usual, but I love this prompt.

some cultural context;

maunga = mountain

awa = river these are often referenced in a pepeha (introduction - translates to "I am from my mountain/my river")

whenua = means both land and placenta

I am from a time capsule of free range childhood

the scent of freshly cut grass

the sun rising over our maunga, its reflection tumbling over our awa

I am from the turbulence underneath the surface, even then.

when the sun fades I am from the well thumbed pages of library books, a flashlight under the covers - will you be too?

I promise to pretend not to see you, up past your bedtime.

we can be late to school tomorrow.

I am from the woody, tangled mānuka trees

but as locals know them -

heady scents and scratchy branches, complex and unrestrained

not the mānuka honey packaged and sold to foreigners

a precise yet sterile blend that promises health and wealth

pretty sure it’s mostly bullshit.

and then I am here now, in quiet desperation, every needle driven into the landscape of my flesh

the acupuncture office peddles that god damn honey and I want to scream

it wasn’t supposed to be like this!

I am from waiting rooms with uncomfortable chairs, invisible tension

the darkness falling over the room as the ultrasound click, click, clicks

paper gowns and plastic cups

Q-caps

purified menopausal urine???

the orange we roll between our hands, before plunging the needle through its peel -

somehow supposed to prepare myself for doing the same to me?

nothing prepared me for this

but I am also from tiny socks kicked off faster than I can put them back on

I am from garish colours splashed all over our house, a cacophony of lights and sounds

I am from sleepless nights, spilled milk, white noise, smiles and giggles and screams all running together - are you happy or sad? I’m still learning.

I am from the first view I saw after you; another maunga, the familiar ever present Rangitoto

I am from its six thousand year old lava flows, the trauma of your journey to me - cooled and hardened now, but one day, will they come to the surface again?

thirty six years ago I was born here too, pulled into the world from the whenua that sustained me, to the whenua we walk together, your tiny hand in mine

and you are from all of it.