Beach Heliotrope

Tahinu in Tahiti,
Touhuni in Tonga,
We crouch, surrounded
By sea grape, naupaka,
And hibiscus.

Cut down, ignored, and drowned.
Washed by listless coasts,
We suffer the abuses of atolls
And follow wind’s white ghosts
To birth our souls,
Our keiki, whorled
And flaring at the tips.

Wind tolerant, and flush,
Our bare inflorescence
Clings to windswept brush,
To build, against
The whistling of the sea,
An abandoned, outcast spring,
And somehow crave,
Through typhoon and tsunami,
Whatever past, in passing,

Our growing here might save.

March 13th, 17th & 30th, 2021
Kaiholu