Driving home from Kaumakani

and the ritual chants of hula

echoes of the drumming pahu

beat their way into this night,

a solstice night of inky kapa

dark as crushed `ohelo berries

and bunched with stars--

the "little eyes" of Makali`i--

those same star eyes that guided paddlers

from the safe shores of Kahiki

over blue-black folds of ocean

to the new lands of Hawai`i.

Now the hills and colors deepen,

towns slip by the tunnel of headlights,

gingers scent the dark with fragrance,

cane leaves rustle, shine moon silver.

Rising now, red star Ka`ula

while Kane, sun, dies past Lehua.

Your heart thrums with the season’s beat

transcending miles and different peoples,

a hopeful pulse of now and ever

connecting you with those before,

those you love, the earth, each foretold star

and quickening mystery.

oli - Hawaiian chant that is never danced

pahu - ceremonial coconut log drum with sharkskin cover

kapa - tapa; cloth-like, beaten material made from certain tree bark

`ohelo - native shrub (cranberry family) sacred to the volcano goddess Pele

Printed with permission from Behold Kaua`i, Modern Days ~ Ancient Ways, C. Dawn Fraser Kawahara, TropicBird Press, Wailua, Kaua`i 2005