Sweet lady Mokihana,
on her wedding day,
brings back all the memories,
of the things I did right.
Sunny days in Pupukea,
a fat hawser rope strung between
two acacia trees and
a determined little girl going
hand over hand
all the way.
Easily the equal
to any boy in the neighborhood,
indeed, the world!
Childhood wolfcalls,
echo down the street,
scars on knees, Hawaii bound,
hand in hand to Kammies,
back and forth to Waipahu,
you talking all the way, and
I listened to every word.
As I write these words
I am reading another
history of women, yet,
the odds are that I would not be if
you had never been born.
Oh, sure, I talked a good game, but,
with two sons already,
it was just too theoretical.
Were girl hopes and dreams
as important as boy's?
Your presence taught me
to the depths of my heart,
that, of course, they were.
On your wedding day
all your hopes and dreams
are exactly mine
for you
Categories:
mokihana, anniversary,
Form: Free verse
Coming over the hill this morning,
carefully crossing the Benicia bridge,
was magical, the sunrise was turning
lightening sky and clouds crimson, and the ridge
way across the bridge was still dark
and it seemed like I was entering
a magical city because the lights that mark
the way were starkly contrasting
to the black shore and the grey river.
I thought about who would most
appreciate this beautiful moment and never
doubted that was Mokihana, that lost
girl I used to drive to Waipahu and back,
and for whom I thank the universe daily, in fact.
Categories:
mokihana, introspection
Form: Sonnet