Three nights of Perseid showers came and went
their lights flirting with the atmosphere so well
I missed them entirely either sleeping through
those first darker hours or squinting into moonlight
that spilled and stained cloud cover so I threw
off my own bed cover before dawn Sunday
and silently assembled more than I needed
in the car and headed down to the shore at Kapa’a
arriving in the fast growing light of our island
dawn my hula brothers and sisters there already
a fire blazing in the raised stone pit a fire visible
from Hana almost 40 miles across the ‘Alenuihāhā
our own inner fires lit up since 3 A.M.
we’re wearing our colors our symbols of hula
in Kohala with the fern print muslin later photos
showed joy on our faces but this wasn’t a joy-ride
we brought gifts for the island of Kaua’i along
with our dances before breakfast we gathered
above the little coral beach when a barn owl
tyto alba flew close right over our heads into
the woods towards Mahukona we released
ho’okupu wrapped in ti into the soft tugging
embrace of the ocean as we faced Kaua’i’s direction
and I’m probably not alone imagining our gifts
making their way to that island 268 miles away
Kealoha chanted strongly at sunrise
joined in the circle by our alaka’i Michael
who vibrated with the higher notes
these were the moments when elderly recreation
under the auspices of Hawai’i County Council
transformed elevated by ritual and protocol
and I confess when I saw the solo kane ho’okupu
return with the tide to swirl inside some
shoreline rocks as if reluctant to go deeper
I felt here’s the truth here’s the visible world
telling me to let go showing me how to be out
of control my dance celebrates places around
Kaua’i the summit of Wai’ale’ale the crescent
beach of Hanalei the long strands of Kekaha
where glimpses of Ni’ihau may be seen
you’d have to be a large winged bird to see
all those places in one song hula’s done that
for me transformed the aerial impossibilities
into what? personal or universal mountains
so steep reaching above my head inner
landscapes so vast and varied I’d have to be
a big-winged bird to make it what am I
thinking is this a survival course why
get all dramatic just reach through the pain
at the knees for the little shells think of the piko
to stay balanced turn back for the mokihana
berries and twist around to show everyone
my rare beautiful lei be the dancer this late
in the day afterwards we danced our five dances
sang our blessing over the food we looked out
and saw spinner dolphins just off shore
if the owl was that singular master moving
through uncertainty and transformation
here were the ocean’s dancers rising
gliding together you could hear it
in our voices ah look oh my oh that
is beautiful they’re here for us yes
and when the rising sun glistened
on one spinner rising clear and free
of the surface ooh and as my wife
liked to say good things come in threes
a rainbow appeared arching vividly
between cloud and sea bridging seen
and unseen with its flourishing signature
upon our huaka’i our journey in learning
as if to say yes you’re going the right way
kohalamichael 