Apirana Taylor gets college keys

Poetry and partnership took centre stage on Friday at Makoura College, when a nationally known poet teamed up with a music student to background a poem.
Apirana Taylor was returning to the school after a popular visit in 2008, reading from his eclectic mix of topics ranging from urban marae to travels in Europe.
He called on Thomas Nikora, 17, to play piano in the background as he strummed and spoke. Taylor had found Thomas playing when he arrived in the college hall, and quickly arranged a duet for the closing stages of his performance.
To the melodic accompaniment, Taylor told the poetic tale of how his guitar got its name.
When the item was over, Taylor noted Thomas had done "not bad for 30 seconds of rehearsal" and had made him think about doing the same in future performances.
Taylor's pieces included the early poem, Sad Joke on a Marae, in which a disillusioned freezing worker describes his tribe as Ngati DB, and the pub as his marae.
Interspersed with his poetry were some autobiographical details, including tales of nights in police cells and checking into an "institution", where he was fed and had a chance to write his poetry.
In a poem called Harfakeke , Taylor shared a Maori proverb about the harakeke (flax) representing the community.
"It's the job of the warriors and the elders on the outside, like the outside branches of the flax, to protect the vulnerable young people - like yourselves and even younger - on the inside," Taylor said.
"I think that many of us have forgotten this."
Taylor thanked his audience for sitting through for an hour of poetry, when "some people would find it hard for 10 minutes".
The Makoura College student body, led by two teachers, sang a song to thank their guest.