"He Mea Māloʻeloʻe #3" by Donovan Kūhiō Colleps

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
May 3, 2024 
 

He Mea Māloʻeloʻe #3

Donovan Kūhiō Colleps
to my kūpuna, Kaahanui & Pelekanoho

I cannot draw a line beyond your names,
back through the brindled understory
along Pīnaʻau stream, ma uka. This cord
has gone as far as it can go for now,
anchored to the pōhaku there, baking
his chest and gossiping with the other stones
about who slept with who?

One of you knew olonā well,
so I’ve been told, which explains
my love for the braid, my love
for the word taut, and my desire
to always look for the fray’s inevitable
unraveling. My obsession
with what time can do to a spine.

One of your great-great-great-grandchildren
(my grandfather) would pour paʻakai
into his pant pocket as a child
whenever he went into the forest.
I do that, too, sometimes, as an adult.
Did you teach us that?

Tell me a story e kuʻu mau kūpuna ē,
Please. Who were the gods you smiled for?
Who were your favorite plant people?
And what was the word you used to describe
the sound of the whales slapping their tails off the coast
of our Keʻanae, that vibrated the lau in the loʻi?

As I dream about how your cheekbones beveled
in afternoon shade I wonder if you both enjoyed
kneeling over tide pools as much as I do?
Of course you did.

I also wonder if my body
will hold this line for my daughter
with the same aloha wrapped around
this olonā now spilling from hers.

Copyright © 2024 by Donovan Kūhiō Colleps. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 3, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets. 

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“This poem is a daydream from a longer sequence inspired by a handwritten moʻokūʻauhau, or genealogy, found in my great-grandfather’s journals. The lines between generations can be enduringly sticky, and I love the idea of how a small mannerism of mine or a certain proclivity to stare a little too long above a city intersection at a cluster of trolley car wires is also an inheritance. In my early thirties, I found my most treasured paragraph in his journal. He writes about how his elders would sail between Maui and Hawaiʻi  throughout the 1800s, trading their olonā cordage for fish.”
Donovan Kūhiō Colleps

Donovan Kūhiō Colleps

Donovan Kūhiō Colleps is a Kanaka Maoli poet and the author of Proposed Additions (Tinfish Press, 2014). He is the creative director of Tinfish Press and lives in Mānoa, Oʻahu.

Proposed Additions

Proposed Additions
(Tinfish Press, 2014)

“Fire Dragon” by Sage Uʻilani Takehiro
read more
“Ka ‘Ōlelo” by Brandy Nālani McDougall
read more

Thanks to Noʻu Revilla, author of Ask the Brindled (Milkweed Editions, 2022), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Revilla’s curatorial approach and find out more about our Guest Editors for the year.
“Poem-a-Day is brilliant because it makes space in the everyday racket for something as meaningful as a poem.” —Tracy K. Smith

If this series is meaningful to you, join the community of Poem-a-Day supporters by making a gift today. Now serving more than 320,000 daily subscribers, this publication is only possible thanks to the contributions of readers like you.
 
Copyright © 2024 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.



Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
STE #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from all Academy messages.

For any other questions, please visit the Poem-a-Day FAQ page.

Older messages

"Default Taupou" by Grace Iwashita-Taylor

Thursday, May 2, 2024

come closer / consider my fisted hands trembling Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 2, 2024 Default Taupou Grace Iwashita-Taylor come closer consider my fisted hands trembling how the

"Spiral" by Hari Alluri

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

What seeps in me from weeks of rain Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 1, 2024 Spiral Hari Alluri What seeps in me from weeks of rain making me forget the life-give part in water. The

Poetry now is as necessary as ever

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

“Poetry now is as necessary as ever.” —Ilya Kaminsky, Academy Chancellor Dear Friend, Every morning, hundreds of thousands of people like you share in the unique ritual that is Poem-a-Day, a community

"Prayer to the Gods of the Night, II" by Roger Reeves

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

The mouths of the bankers are closed. Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day April 30, 2024 Prayer to the Gods of the Night, II Roger Reeves IM of David Ferry The mouths of the bankers are

Last chance to join us for Poetry & the Creative Mind

Monday, April 29, 2024

Register now! View this email in your browser Final call for RSVPs! Join the Academy of American Poets for Poetry & the Creative Mind. Our signature celebration tomorrow features a spectacular

You Might Also Like

Where are you now?

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Where do you want to be? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

WIN $2,500 to put toward your very own warm weather getaway!

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Warm Weather Getaways Sweepstakes ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Tinee, But Part Of The Story

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

What Do You Think You're Looking At? #197 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

treehouse

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

on endings ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Why Didn't Voters Care About Biden's Many Accomplishments?

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Biden did a lof of really important things, yet the public never gave him any credit. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

What I’m Re-Reading, No.1

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

On Arendt, Céline, Juvenilia Studies ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Duck face walked so this pout could run

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today January 15, 2025 Subscribe Read in browser Header Image But First: Did Travis spill some Taylor tea? Update location or View forecast Quote of the Day

“Centaur over Tomer Butte” by Robert Wrigley

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Tomer Butte, named for George Washington Tomer, January 15, 2025 donate Centaur over Tomer Butte Robert Wrigley Tomer Butte, named for George Washington Tomer, who arrived in 1871 to formalize its

#66: What The Notches Said – No. 06

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Interview with 'Z', who's from my səxual past ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Katie Holmes’ Monochrome Outfit Debuts Winter’s New *It* Color

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

We're major fans. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 1.14.2025 Katie Holmes' Monochrome Outfit Debuts Winter's New *It* Color (Celebrity) Katie Holmes' Monochrome Outfit Debuts