Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Six Days of November

A Gorge-ous Day in Waimea of Kauai
Where lay before my eyes
The Grand Canyon of the Pacific
Cradling a silvery cascade of water
And whose earth colors
Magically arrange themselves layer by layer
Mystically giving humans an awe
For being just a speck in the universe
A Gorge-ous Day on the Awa’awapulu Trail
To be rewarded at the end
With a vista no words can display
From where we sat and trembled
Over two thousand feet below us
The Na’Pali cliffs meet the Na’Pali coastline
In the vast of Nualolo and Awa’awapulu valleys underneath
The white birds and the helicopters flew


Into Alice’s Wonderland we stumbled
While hiking on the Kalalau Trail
To arrive at the Hanakapi’ai white-sand Beach
Known to be gone in the winter
But was there for us to wonder
I was Alice who had shrunk
Among the roots and ferns of giants
Half expecting to see a white rabbit be late
I was in a Disneyland make-believe
Of an enchanted forest
The scales had tipped for the flora
I could wrap myself in leaves and get lost in bamboo clusters
Around the bends the ocean showed
A beautiful turquoise when struck by sunlight
A giant web spread in the tall grass
Lending us enthrallment and admiration
Flowers were in bloom if I looked closely
Birds of colors flew away if I walked too loudly
Water seeped in my shoes if I crossed a stream
Without removing them to carry in my hand
Flat areas of helicopter landing we must pass
Warning signs of falling rocks and rising water
And hazardous cliffs we must mind  
To see Hanakapi’ai Falls drop ninety meters at our feet


The Big Island welcomed us
To its rocky shores and black-sand beaches
Where giant turtles and colorful fishes swam
While white waves clashed to crevices and cracks
Tree roots seemed to grow on rocks
And tree trunks seemed to bend at will
Black crabs crawled away on wet rocks
And children knee-deep in water played at the seawall
In the evening we went Pele’s Way
She beckoned us to come and chose us to see
The spectaculars of her might and glory
She gave us heat and a sight to behold
She whispered a blessing to the brave souls
Who crossed muddy tortuous paths in the rain
In darkness to witness her creation
Of lava flowing from the bowels of her depth


We could not leave Big Island without seeing a sunset
From Mauna Kea summit we wanted to be
For some say it’s as close as heaven as one gets
The road to Mauna Kea from Rainbow Falls was foggy
But as we climbed higher the sky got clear
We rested at Onizuka Center at nine thousand feet
Where the silverswords grow on dry land
On the stairway to heaven they glittered and shone
But looked lonesome for being apart one by one
As we ascended the rocky soil to the summit
The air grew thin and the temperature dropped low
There were no signs of familiar fauna and flora  
A feeling of being out of this world engulfed me
So to this adventure I named it Mars
After passing iron-rich red mounds of earth
An awesome view of sky and telescopes emerged
At the summit we felt a little woozy
Thus we slowed our steps and breathed in more deeply
When the sun came down and colors filled the sky
We were struck with a splendor above the white clouds
And from below them Mauna Loa poked through
Another wonder of creation that will forever be etched in our minds


We bid Big Island adieu and to Oahu we returned
The day was awaiting with more to explore
An easy hike through a bamboo forest we scored
At Nu’uanu Pali where we wanted to be
Before embarking on the steep ridgeline
My shirt got sweaty so I took it off
While being careful to not fall to the right
Which opens to a beautiful view at a scary height
When the trail ended I did not know
A wonderful thing called Pali Puka waited for me right below
What a surprise to see Chinaman’s Hat and the sea
Through this hole in the rocks that was under me
We lounged at Waimanalo Beach after the Puka Find
To relax and enjoy until the rain said hi


The last day found us on the Aiea Loop of Keaiwa Heiau
I called this Roots Hike for the trail was full of exposed roots
The path was broken up with fallen trees
But it was dry and not muddy underfoot
We stopped at its mid-point to enjoy
The scenic portion of H3 highway with mountains around it
These were the six days that I would not trade
For comfort, sauna baths, or gold and myrrh
There simply was not a single day
That Hawaii didn’t poke me and say “Hey”
Even as we were at the departing gate
Honolulu gave us a parting gift of a rainbow ray
It was such a sweet send-off we received
That it gave us pause and made us ponder a return





No comments:

Post a Comment