By Kawika A. Stafford
ʻO Kohala
the place that my grandma knew,
and her mom, and her mom’s mom too.
Dense dark forest
filled with hidden meaning and mist;
crowd my dreams when I think of this…
Yet
it is Waimea of old that I truly miss,
longing for her misty morning kiss…
to caress me in her gentle arms
once again.
As time moves ever forward
And I continue to fade
it is in my mind
that I travel
back and forth…
each and every day;
sometimes as a boy
but most times as a man.
The years do pass,
people don’t last,
as I continue
to cling to a well-worn and tattered dream.
What does it all mean?
From the mountain
to the sea,
when my journey
is complete;
in Waipiʻo Valley
is where I will sleep.
ʻO Hawaiʻi Nei,
Embrace me
as your native son
as I slumber in your arms
until that promised day has come.
End.
Kawika A. Stafford lives in Henderson, Nevada. He wrote this poem for his grandmother, Annie Lincoln Stevens who lived at Parker Ranch on Hawaiʻi Island.
To read more of Kawika’s poetry go to blackeagledream.com.
