Hawai‘i Literature & Art
— Since 1978 —
Happy New Year! It’s the Year of the Ox and time to write. Again : ) This month, every piece should be about an ox. No no no. Just kidding. This month’s prompts are below. The length requirement this month is either exactly 25 words or exactly 100 words Your choice. The following prompt possibilities…
A string of Mauna. Regal morning silhouettes awaken to snow.
Souza was the first to go, then Bert, then Bert’s wife, then Mark, then Joe, then Joe’s wife. Lights dimming, burning out all over the neighborhood, darkness descending, settling, stilling talk-story shouts, taunts, laughter. Visitors remark on the quiet. It’s so peaceful. The wind in the ironwood. The birds.
“Need help?” I inquire through my open shotgun window. The family assumes a defensive posture that has Daddy holding a jack handle at the back of the car, Junior crouching unarmed behind him, Mama looking stern behind Junior, and Sis leaning on the right front fender behind Mama. “Flat tahr,” Daddy answers. “Bad luck,” I…
Harvest Red dirt and pineapple fields stain my memories. Alongside rows of pineapple, I sat on dusty red roads and ate from my kau-kau tin with the old lady gang. Years later, I carried you in my belly and yearned for fresh pineapple, dripping with juice and a touch of salt.
Almost The Same He thought about when he dug graves to earn money. They stacked sixty bodies in the shed that winter the ground froze hard. Flashforward to a half-century later. Now, bodies are stacked in refrigerated trucks parked behind morgues. They wait for loved ones to mourn them during this pandemic time.
Indelible Allegra once told me You carry sadness in your eyes, She was sure there were stories To tell in the way women can That meander to love and men. I buried that sadness deep, But sadness seeks sadness And she drew it up As one might sip some sweet drink.
Three kids, age group swimmers, one ride only to the Mililani rec center pool. Two love it, one does not. Tough. I relax, grateful for the break, not having to drive to three different sports. Lowering the back of my seat I am good. Proper planning is key to happiness.
She lifts her left foot slowly, moving forward Steadily, if only by six inches. This Is how she gets to Foodland every Thursday, Senior discount day. She is as tiny as the gray weeds growing Along the curb. I fear even a light wind Will nudge her off balance, yet her steps are sure,…
I was asked to write a story in one sentence or less. This is what I wrote: Alone again, naturally. Now some might say that this is flat out plagiarism, and I’ll admit, on the face of it, it could be taken that way. But I call it an homage.