Island Breath: Kauai Poetry

SUBJECT: KAUAI POETRY

SOURCE: FAITH HARDING tophatandscarf@yahoo.com

POSTED: 19 JUNE 2005 - 3:30pm HST

Another Decade Comes

Flower arrangement provided by Steve Peters from the Big Island

Another Decade Comes
Hau' oli la hanau, Juan
© Faith Harding 6/2005

When you reach this landmark what is it that you miss?
Youthful arrogance?
Drunken bliss
I ask my friend this
What is it that he misses
Or does he miss anything at all?
The future
What does hope to see?
That he lives long enough for some great miracle or feat?
He tells me oh so matter-of-factly
He was born unto this earth in Baltimore, MD
60 years ago
Whisked away to his Grandma's farm
I've seen pictures of the rural homestead
I can imagine his rowdiness and freedom as a kid
No running water or electricity in upstate New York
Outdoors exploring and wandering about
Innocence of childhood
That today , I feel, is terribly without
From rural to urban life
"Running water, electricity and television, oh my"
His adventures in the City so many I'm sure
I can imagine my friend so cavalier then
He tells me as he reminisces
About the "doo-wop" on the corner being sung acappella
While making out with some young girl so willing
Shooting hoops in the streets with the fellas
In a New York City minute
Missing the street life that was his
He's 60 but still "the kid"
Now I meet him on Kauai
Talking story and the like
Intrigued by his past
Sharing the present
And the future, I pose to him
He looks forward to his first taro crop
A post suburban island
With no automobiles, GMOs
Or military polluting it up
I think back to the young boy on Granny's farm
He's continued to explore and wander about
Adventurous by nature
Intelligence I admire
Tenderly he tells me he wants
More intimate moments with the people he loves
A good outlook for the future
As the beginning of another decade comes
Happy Birthday to my friend, Juan

Editor's Note: Thank you Faith for your gift of a poem for my 60th birthday party celebrated with our friends

SUBJECT: KAUAI POETRY

SOURCE: FAITH HARDING tophatandscarf@yahoo.com

The Big Island

POSTED: 14 NOVEMBER 2004 - 8:30pm HST

Waipio Valley on the Big Island's north shore

The Big Island

From the oldest landing on the youngest
The vibe is different
A whole other scene
It’s all about lava
And truly living aloha
Hilo side
The local wild side
Black sand beaches
Huge banyan trees
When I’m introduced to O’hana
I’m greeted with kisses
To see the glowing, oozing magma at night
And the steam vents hiss
Truly Mother Nature’s way of showing paradise’s hits and misses
Hawai’i
The island is rumbling and grumbling with its blood
And people live there
Totally aware of the damage the goddess Pele can bestow with her fiery flood
I was told I was a gift from the goddess
Fiery red-blooded bursting
Indeed
A gift or payback?
Which should he heed?
Learning customs at the baby luau
Eating cake noodles is a must
For longevity-little keike
Hau’oli la hanau
Mahalo Big Island for a taste of your magnificence
I can only hope to return to be in your presence
Life is pono on Kaua’i
As I reflect on my trip to the magical island that is Hawai’i

SUBJECT: KAUAI POETRY

SOURCE: FAITH HARDING tophatandscarf@yahoo.com

Fear and Consumption on 911

18 September 2004 - 7:00pm HST

Marilyn Manson in "Bowling for Columbine"

A poem inspired by Michael Moore and Marilyn Manson in Bowling for For Columbine to comemorate 9/11/04

Fear and Consumption

Waking up to “the world’s coming to an end it’s on TV”
In my hung-over haze, I went into the living room to see
The fall of our financial icons
The crumbling twin towers
I cried for the human lives lost
It didn’t surprise me
Something so Hollywood
Just enough destruction, smoke and violence
I watched in dumbfounded awe
I was afraid for my friends in the City
I was afraid for the people that were flying
I was afraid of a mass terrorist invasion
I was afraid so I kept watching
Television, truly the weapon of mass destruction
Told me to run and buy a gas mask
Muslims are the devil
We must be hateful
And all the while
Bush is the liar
Saudis are “leavin’ on a jet plane“
No one knew
How tightly connected
The turn of the proverbial screw
Connect the dots and we did find
Cheney, Bush, Bin Laden and Saudis are The Corporation
What is happening for money and power
Greed seems to lead
How appropriate the towers fell
Wall Street
Mean Streets of oil and free trade
The few and sacrifice the many
Scare them and they will follow
Scare them and they will swallow
Scare them and watch them run
Consume, Consume and then some
Even presented with the truth
We turn our heads in dread
We speak out and make a difference
Labeled traitor and unpatriotic
Many know and do nothing about it
Don’t bother me
Killing others isn’t ok
Democracy is dead
It’s the almighty dollar-I speak out
I believe in the power of one
I don’t believe what the media and our government is shoveling at us
I don’t believe that Iraqis are evildoers
Nor the Afghanis
We created the monsters
Dr. Uncle Sam
I believe in Lady Justice
This government will pay a heavy price
Bloodshed for no reason
These are fellow humans
We haven’t learned from our past
I believe in resolution
I believe in truth
I believe in a future
I believe in tolerance
I believe in my own voice
Work toward the positive choice
I will never give up
Government does not define a people
I am change -
Art, education and compassion
That represents a person
Not fear and consumption

Michael Moore with rifle and camera in "Bowling for Columbine"

SUBJECT: KAUAI POETRY

SOURCE: FAITH HARDING tophatandscarf@yahoo.com

POSTED: 22 AUGUST 2004 - 4:00pm HST

Aina & Maha'ulepu

A poem by Faith Harding about being new to Kauai in 2003

Aina
If you’ve never been to this island and you find yourself willing here
Something has called to you, drawing you near
Mother Gai has given this world so many exotic places of intense beauty and sacred places

Kaua’i, the ‘aina, truly aloha spirit, when I walk about, I can feel it
From Polihale and Barking Sands
Waimea’s grand effects to Koke’e’s cool climate
Hanapepe’s art district and ‘Ele’ele’s quaint essence
Pt. Allen’s small vessels, my favorite is Salt Ponds’ intense radiant sunsets

South shore is where I reside, Omao means green, raining, raining nearly everyday
Owl Bluff apartments, Kahili Mountains is my front door view
I can see all the way to Po’ipu, my beach on South shore for sure
Lots of people at the beach park, keikes playing, parties, food
Monk seals and honus take a snooze*

I love this particular part of the ‘aina, for here comes my ipo, he lives in Po’ipu too
On his boat we went to Kipu Kai, to me, the most romantic beach on Kaua’i
On to Nawiliwili and Kalipaki Beach, watch the Love Boats come in and go
Lihu’e is our county seat
Ahukini Landing very old and rickety where the ghost stories of sugar cane workers remains
All over the ‘aina it is such a damn shame
Wailua Falls, “de plane, de plane”, Fantasy Island, to be under the falls on a mahina piha
Feeling the moani through your hair, naked under the na hoku, do I dare?

Kapa’a town is East side hustle and bustle, sadly, I try not to go there
Taro patches in Anahola, North shore begins to appear
Kilauea Lighthouse is the beacon bright, whale watching is an incredible sight
Princeville is money and with that comes haoles
Hanalei Bay is my favorite North shore spot
Lots of lush greenery, plumeria, birds of paradise, hibiscus, coconuts, mangos, bananas, macadamia nuts
The Gods and Goddesses made paradise lost, for Na Pali Coast has taken lives, the ultimate cost

Warriors’ tales, Hawaiian lore, give no exit to Kalalau Trail
Na Pali is omnipotent, it shimmers with falls and crevices so deep
The camel, the squirrel, Larry, Moe and Curly in the cliffs you see
So, this is my tale of my ‘aina aloha

I’ve found a perfect example, that this haole girl has only begun to sample
The magnitude of the Hawaiian ‘aina, beginning here on Kaua’i-
This island’s adventure has given to me a mystique of stillness
Oneness with the isle, truly, I can only live pono and I am blessed
Perhaps live to be an old wahine and have the ‘aina as my place of rest

I had just written this line and took a break and headed to the water for a dip. As I was headed toward the water, a monk seal was coming up out of the water to beach itself at Po’ipu. I had never witnessed that. I always see them beached but I had never encountered the seal coming out of the water. It was like he/she heard me!!!

A poem by Faith Harding about her first visit to Maha'ulepu in 2003

Maha'ulepu
Heading out on a windy morning on the potted dirt road
I turn by the stables to sneak down to Gillin’s Beach
Looking for the places “not to be missed” although, I am not a tourist
What will I discover?
I’ve learned of the horrors, the massacre of warriors
Their bones in the lithified cliffs
As I hop around, I watch the waves smash, crash into the earth
I imagine what it was like for the men that fought under Kamehameha
How petrified and exhausted only to be met with death
Kauaiian forces protecting the ‘aina and defeating the King’s troops
I walk about and feel their presence
I chug down the dusty road to the guard shack and come to Kawailoa Bay
How blazing hot it is and the wind is whipping the sand across my body
I thought it was against the law to bring your troubles here
The family that is near can’t seem to let it go and have some harmony
I watch the windsurfers and stare in awe of their balance and poise
The kite boarders are daredevils that appear like birds landing in the bay
I think back to that one erotic day
My ipo and I went to Ha’ula Beach one of my first Maha’ulepu trips
On the journey we pass over the sandstone that have shaped themselves into sharp daggers
What an oasis the beach is, so secluded and private
We gator in the water au naturale
A tour boat passes by
We giggle and honi
He tells me there is a second Ha’ula Beach around the bend
We decided to stay at number one
It starts to rain and I feel baptized by Maha’ulepu
My daydreaming brings me back to the present
How this part of the ‘aina is heaven sent
In death and rebirth
The Hawaiian Gods and Goddesses and the dead
Are the teachers of a sacred time and space
I have shared this with you now go and experience what is Maha’ulepu

SUBJECT: KAUAI POETRY

SOURCE: FAITH HARDING tophatandscarf@yahoo.com

POSTED: 8 JUNE 2004 - 8:00pm HST

I'm Not a Quiet Girl

Faith at tthe 2003 Earthday gathering at Nawiliwli Park

A poem by Faith Harding performed 5 June 2004 at Grinds Cafe Open Mike in Eleele, Kauai

Open Mic @ Grinds Cafe & Espresso is celebrating it's 2nd Year Anniversary on June 12th. Come and join Blu Dux and Faith Harding and all the fun with past headliners: musicians, poets and actors. It'll be a festive night starting @ 7:30pm and going until 11:00pm.

We're on the outside lanai overlooking Hanpepe Valley!! Food served until 9pm, beer & wine available until closing. Smoking is allowed.

Not A Quiet Girl

I’m not nor will I ever be a quiet girl
I stopped my brother’s hockey game with my piercing shrill
I’m LOUD
I love concerts
Without a doubt
No, I’ll never be a quiet girl
I’ve got a mouth
Yelling
It gives me such a thrill
Speaking voice is bombastic
Crude, rude
Laughing LOUD
Is SO fantastic
I don’t want to be a quiet girl
I want to be noticed
I want to be pointed at
I love it when people turn around and say, “SHHHHH!”
Volume goes up
I can’t help but be sarcastic
I love it LOUD
Music
Linguistics
Booming in my ears
My voice IS the one that stands out in the crowd
Nope
I’ll never be a quiet girl
I like my voice
LOUD AND PROUD
My conscious choice
Football and fans
LOUD
It’s awesome
I’m usually around other LOUD people
Incredible LOUD sounds
Hollering
Shrieking banshee
Bass thumping
Xena Warrior
I do fancy
I won’t ever be a quiet girl
I am the sparking LOUD jewel
Not tacky
Maybe tawdry
Definitely tempting
Like a big oyster pearl
I’m not the quiet girl
I’m LOUD
Even when I try to be quiet
Shut-up
I just don’t do
Quiet
I’m too much of a riot
A card
A trip
A pill
No, I’ll never be the quiet girl