Kohana Au (2012 Poem In Your Pocket)

Orchidland Morning

by Kathy Wines

Sweet-tempered songs and trills of morning avian awaken the forest
Playful sprinkles of rain flit and dart adding a soft percussion rhythm
Gray skies brushed with streaks of pink bring a muted embrace
Brilliant shades of green dance in a profusion of differing tints
Fresh morning
Breathe in
Breathe out
Be attentive
So grateful
A symphony of splendor is at hand

Kathy is a teacher at a charter school in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. She received her B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, along with a teaching certificate, and Master of Education. Kathy and her husband enjoyed three years sailing on a 30-foot sailboat, exploring Mexico, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, and New Zealand. When it came time to settle down, the Big Island of Hawaiʻi proved to be the optimum place to swallow the anchor and start life ashore. When Kathy is not celebrating the joy of learning with her fifth graders, she came be found relishing in all that life offers on her island home, along with pursuing her dream of becoming a writer. Living amid an ʻōhiʻa lehua forest on the slopes of a volcano helps to create the perfect spot to let her creativity flow. Kathy can be reached at wines@hawaii.edu.

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Drama Dance (Hula-ʻō-lapa)

by Kohana Au

Let us dance the lore of the sea currents and cloud-forms.
How they meet, move and separate.

Let us dance how the stars and waves appear,
and the course of the wind as it froths the waters.

Let us dance to the motions of the leaves and blossoms
swaying in a particular wind.

Let us move like dancing trees, swimming fish and shifting clouds.

Let us dance as filtered light, in the sea,

in the forests and the shadows that it casts.

Let us dance was we were told by Aliʻiwahineokamalo (The shadow on the moon.)

Let us dance the way of Kū and Hina.

Let us dance the way to tell the stories we were taught by Laʻamaikahiki, Maluaka, Kilinoe and Paliula.

Let us dance on the land and in the sea for all life and love.

Blow the conch…Play the kaeke drum, blow the flute, begin the kilu.

Come perform the Hula…let us dance.

Kohana Au has long been a writer associated with a number of projects throughout the Hawaiian Islands. A student and lover of all that is Polynesia–from New Zealand to Hawaiʻi–he shares his knowledge and understanding of these wonderful cultures. The poem is an excerpt from his book Tales of the Mermaids of Waiahuakua.

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