Legend has it that long ago in ages past,
When strange, mysterious creatures roamed the sea,
Polynesian navigator, Kupe, reached shore at last
On Aoteroa/New Zealand, a new country.
A giant octopus patrolled that foreign shore,
Te-Wheke-a-Muturangi, fiercely possessive,
Refused to let Kupe and his men ashore.
The battle that ensued was absolutely massive.
An octopus, to Lutruwita/Tasmania came
For Ten Days on the Island in Twenty Twenty-three,
To grace the waters of Bellerive where it became
The centre of attention, a focus on history.
The octopus turns in the wind, tentacles rise
And fall with the waves, colourful, somewhat outsize.
Bill Edmunds
March 2023
billedmunds.com
Bill Edmunds 