Maui
places
Maui
I’ve felt your restless tides and watched your palms
Sway in the breeze that sweeps in from Lanai;
I’ve joined your mission church in singing psalms,
And gazed across the strait at Molokai.
Hawaiian royals occupied this place;
Explorers came, and whalers from Cape Cod;
And missionaries; men of diverse race
Who found a Paradise handmade by God.
Green hills, plumeria and sandalwood;
Majestic waterfalls and unique birds…
It’s thirty years since I last stood
Beneath your banyan tree. I have no words
Of comfort I can give, just somber flashes:
The shops on Front Street are no longer there;
Museum treasures—all reduced to ashes.
Auwe! That’s Hawaiian for “despair.”
Lahaina: heart of Maui—lost to flame.
Know in my heart you’ll always be the same.
-Brian Yapko, Lahina
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