Hawai‘i Literature & Art
— Since 1978 —
Don Millich only lived in our neighborhood for a couple years, and he was a couple years older than me, but we got to be pretty good hangout buddies sometimes. One time we pack our B-B guns and go poking around the remains of the old shingle mill across the highway from Mark McDonald’s family home, about…
Along the Ala Wai in the cool heat of day’s end We might see walkers Rushing by without smiles Intent on closing the gap to unknown destinations. Hand in hand, Thich Nhat Hanh walks with me, Slowly, we walk without a destination in mind Each step connects us in peace We breathe and step,…
Grandmother’s half-filled tea cup cools in the family Butsudan, her enigmatic smile exposing white teeth, appearing less spectral since the move from mom’s bedroom where she sat unobtrusive for a number of years, her smile unwavering to random offerings of rice cakes and fruit, quietly listening to the silent passing of time. Time mom spent…
Prompt: From “The Alternative,” by Jim Harstad One of the really good things about being old is having the leisure to think about all the noble things you did on the way here, your generous, sometimes courageous, contributions to a clearheaded, compassionate social ambiance, a world full of hope and promise. The Cook …
“Look,” my wife says, “they don’t go all the way under.” I see but am not relieved. “They lock you inside,” I say. “They close the hatch after everyone’s stuffed in.” “But Larry, I’m sure they’d open it and let you run up on deck.” I say, “I have to be crammed into this little…
Been missing summer mornings Kicked back on the saggy futon Tank tops and tube socks Blowing the AC Shoulders icy to the touch We threw open the windows Someone put on Billy Joel and The smell of sunlit grass Filled the room I can hear it Even now Clinking mimosa glasses and Peals of laughter…
They are five young shower trees Aligned on Auahi Street, fearlessly Blossoming outside Salt in late June’s Heat, full in their belief that they always Will be so lustrous and as proud As the youth of Honolulu parading Under their shade, fearlessly believing This will never happen again.
Here are the prompts for July. There is no specific word count this month. Write a piece as long or as short as you like. Again, the suggested prompts may be ignored at will. 1. From “Today,” by Fred Peyer We will watch old movies without regret * * * 2. From “Real Courage,” by…
When the veil between the past and present flutters I see the source of my healing touch and intuitive reading I see my fear of being in the water Waves or no waves, flat as Ala Moana —no matter Long after the veil is still, I remember I am a healer who fears being in…
“The whole damn thing about God, if He exists,” I say to Mardi, rudely pointing my Lone Star longneck, “is that, if He exists, we need to take that into consideration in the way we live our lives. Consider, for example, how we conduct business and government and parenting and relationships with each other. What…