Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Pig
Lawaiʻa
This is the same spot Uncle used to bring me as a kid, over by the black rocks on the edge of the reef. The first time he brought me…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Pig
Loko ʻIa
We were waist deep in a lo’i, stamping it down and planting taro cuttings. A man wearing a straw hat and malu supervised. One of the elders had his baby…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Pig
Ha’iku Stream
The energy of the stream was flowing directly into the base of a displaced coconut tree. Over time, it tipped diagonally, nearly washing away with the current. All it would…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Pig
Measuring Waves
Between us was a bottle of cheap vodka but not much else. We sat on the edge of Waikiki on an abandoned straw mat. We were in middle of a…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
Homeless Guitar
The homeless man walks barefoot around Kaka’ako with a guitar on his back. He heads down Halekauwila in the art district, past murals by graffiti artists. He spots a narwal…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
Ala Moana Wit Tutu
Did I tell you bout da time ma fadda neva pick me up? I had fo walk home afta library wen close an he blames me! ‘What the heck you…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Rooster
Walking Around Chinatown
Everybody like fo walk around Chinatown on New Year’s Day, no mo nothing fo do, no mo money. Dey like go stand outside da window, watch da cook chop char…