My Hawaii, I Return

From the engine roar in my ears and the wingtip bending,

To wave hello to the brown, black land far below,

With the stark blues in contrast to the land.

Billows of clouds drift in coronation under me,

I am again enamored with your kingdoms blues,

Rich in eloquence, coral gleaming forth in brilliance.

I know then a stir in my soul drawing me down, pulling me.

To this island whose soul is highlighted in swirls.

White foam and blue white illumines in aquatic attraction.

Oh, my islands, my shoals of continual call,

I look forward to seeing again and again.

Always in loving knowledge of your calling me from afar.

My oneness with you will be again complete

As the bright gray bird touches the land.

To touch, no! To soul-feel my land and my sea.

Given to me by my ancestors of millennia,

To be with and prosper, on my land of brilliant contrasts.

Knowing empirically in the calmness of my soul.

Walking upon my island, depleted of most things once here,

Still in continued eloquence, an engulfing soul remains,

Absorbing all who put foot upon its soil.

Roland James June 2001