Poetry

Yesterday, I ran an adult forum on poetry, where I shared some of my favourite poets (Emily Dickinson, ee Cummings, Yehuda Amichai, Pauli Murray, Maya Angelou, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry), and we talked and thought about the ways that the Spirit moves in poetry. The classes were small, but I was touched by people sharing with me that they have written some poetry. Inspired by their bravery, I share here a poem I wrote in my Pauli Murray class last Spring.

Resilient

For the first people, the voyagers, the star-gazers
The ones who traveled from Aotearoa
Using the currents and the skies
And settled in Hawaii, the land that was drawn up from the ocean by
Maui and his fishhook
Birthed from Papa and Wakea, earth mother and sky father

For the lahui everywhere who are learning to Ku’e
In speaking up for the right to ‘olelo Hawaii
In our own native land
For demanding the right to conduct state business
In the language of the first people
And refusing continual colonization

For the lahui who are bending their tongues
Learning again the wisdom of the ancestors
Learning again to empty our heads of the oppressor
So that we can return, and be filled,
With the wai we come from – with what is living water
Filled with salt

For the mana wahine who are protecting our lands
Standing in defiance of those who think that
Another telescope atop our mauna will bring them knowledge
Standing in crosswalks and in ceremony,
Connecting our people back to our sources
Remembering that we have all come from the water in our mother’s wombs

For the kane who are becoming warriors
Not by wielding weapons, or using violence
But by growing tall in your beliefs
And remembering the pride of our people
Refusing to believe that we were ignorant savages
And instead looking back to see our line of monarchy

For the mahu who are taking back your rights
Recalling the ceremony that is only yours
And rejecting the restrictions of a binary
We have a place for you, and we need you for the life of the people
Come, and take up your role here
For we are stronger when we march together

For those who ‘oli
Calling out to the past, present, future
Steeping us in our ancestors, in our kupuna
Singing the words that connect, and call, and summon
Calling forth our highest selves
And birthing a new generation

For the kalo farmers
Taking care of Haloa, the first human, stillborn
Who, when he was planted, turned into taro
Which is the food for the people
Wading through the muddy fields barefoot
And massaging Papa’s back

For the keiki
Who are growing up learning about the monarchs
Standing in ‘Iolani Palace, where our Queen was imprisoned
Becoming one with those who came before
Participating in the cycles of time,
Ready to rise

For the kanaka maoli and the keiki o ka ‘aina
May our land be one of peace
Let us remember those who came before,
Telling our stories and resisting those who would tell us that
Hawaii was a Sandwich Island,
Nothing until immigration.

May we remember not to only be humble, but also to be proud
For we come from a people not only gentle, but also strong
Fierce, beautiful warriors, who learned to live on the land
And use it as a mutual exchange, remembering the responsibility of ceremony
Remembering that we rise, together
For we belong to one another, and to the earth

​May we remember.