Dorothy Wharehoka (d. 2022) was a Hawke’s Bay poet and sent me a cricket poem (an acrostic) in 2015. I had it published in The Cricket Society News Bulletin.
Wharehoka’s poem is written about the World Cup that year,
New Zealand v Australia. Williamson won the match with a six. The Aussies would
end up beating New Zealand in the final under Michael Clarke’s leadership. I
also wrote a poem about it, ‘The Anatomy of Kane Williamson’s 6’ in my book Slips
(2021).
DOROTHY WHAREHOKA
Howzat!
Crikey, Captain Fantastic, a blistering start;
Run rates this high could tear the Ockers apart.
Into the bowling attack came left swinger Starc
Clunk! The death rattle of wickets heard through the park.
Kane’s time now to step up and be ‘unspectacularly good’;
Eleventh man’s in, need the sweet touch of leather with wood.
The tension. The strike. The relief. The victory six!
Poem © Dorothy Wharehoka
Wharehoka was known for poems used as teaching aids. ‘Maui
Chant’ by Wharehoka was based on the legend of Maui and the Giant Fish,
and the lesson focuses on verbs, repetition and te reo Māori.” Verbs
& repetition. 'Maui Chant' poem with worksheets + craft. | Teaching
Resources. She published the poetry book, Peninsula Pieces (1994),
with photography by Jocelyn Penny, and was part of the Hawke’s Bay Live Poets,
with Sonia MacKenzie, Bill Sutton, Jeremy Roberts and others. She is included
in regional anthologies like Seasons’ Voices: 30 Years of Hawke’s Bay Live
Poets’ Society (2022).
