Lilipuna Road in December

I breathe the stillness of a predawn air,

the day after Christmas,

the day after heavy rain and winds

accumulate their miseries of flood

advisories, power outages and

highway closures.

I breathe the predawn air,

heavy with the sound of humidity–

the hum and whir of air conditioning

units perched on window sills

facing unblinking LED stars

of Kailua–shimmering on the

liquid black Kaneohe Bay.

Breathing the predawn air,

I smell the mud that still gleams

on the road, the plumeria silent

of its blossoms, hear the echo of

voiceless birds, see shadows

receive their visibility–on this day

–the day after Christmas–

my father’s birthday.