(200)▪︎[ Grieving & Leaving … 3•1•2020 ]

A[ This Grieving Stuff Is For The Birds ]
[ My Thoughts Are All Consuming ]
[ But I Can’t Put All Of Them Into Words ]

[ Is There A Special Way To Grieve ]
[ Without Making Your Sanity Leave? ]

[ Like The Falling Leaf ]
[ Can It Be Brief? ]

[ Nothing About Grieving Makes Sense ]
[ It’s As Predictable As Getting A Smile ]
[ On The Face Of Vice-President Pence ]

[ Make Your Life ]
[ Like ]
[ Dice ]
[ Throw Them Against The Wall, Twice ]

[ That’s Like My Thoughts Being Rearranged ]
[ Sometimes They Seem Caged ]

[ All Pent Up In A Little Box ]
[ Who Has The Key, Goldilocks? ]

[ I Wish These Thoughts Of Mine ]
[ Would Fall Into Line ]
[ With Nine Rows Of Nine ]
[ Then They’d Take Me Dakine ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(247)[ The Rose … 3•9•2020 ]

[ How Can One Tell That Someone Is Trying To Get One
Over On Them? ]
[ They Act Like They Are The Beautiful Head Of The Rose ]
[ & I Am Just The Stem ]

[ But The Head Can’t Survive With The Stem Cut Off ]
[ They’d Look Around Their Surroundings & Feel Lost ]

[ So This Person Thinks They Have Everything Wrapped
Up Tight & Safe ]
[ But If Things Are Wrapped Up Too Tight ]
[ They May Chafe ]

[ Why Would They Want This Done? ]
[ Should I Get Up & Run? ]
[ I Don’t Think This Is Very Fun ]

[ Anymore ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(172)▪︎[ Hurting … 2•22•2020 ]

[ I Hurt So Much Right Now ]
[ I Am Supposed To Pull It Together ]
[ But I Don’t Know How ]

[ I Lost My Younger Brother Brent A Couple Of Nights
Ago ]
[ He Passed As He Slept ]
[ & Now I Don’t Know ]
[ How Long I’ve Wept ]

[ He Was The Last Member Of My Family In My Mind ]
[ Oh If I Could Only Pound On The Button That Says
( REWIND! ) ]

[ I Don’t Know How Far Back In Years I Would Go ]
[ Then I’d Hit ( PLAY ) ]
[ & Take It Really Slow ]

[ You See, We Were Separated About When He Was One &
I Was Two ]
[ I Knew I Had A Brother Out There ]
[ Somewhere ]
[ But I Had No Clue ]
[ I Grew Up Not Asking Questions ]
[ Because It Seemed Like Nobody Cared ]
[ Or Nobody Knew ]

[ It Wasn’t Until After We Were Married & My Wife Asked ]
[ ( WOULD YOU MIND IF I LOOKED FOR YOUR BROTHER? ) ]
[ I Told Her That She Could Take On That Task ]
[ But I Don’t Want To Know A Thing About Our Mother ]

[ She Tracked Down The Police Report For When My Dad
Shot Himself In The Head ]
[ Seeing This Report Was Something That I Grew Up To Dread ]

[ The Report Sent Her In The Direction That Would Make
Her Rave & Rant ]
[ Because It Said That The Names Of His Children Was Bobby,
Robin & Brant ]

[ That Made The Direction Of The Hunt Juke ]
[ Instead Of Jive ]
[ It Seems That When Our Dad Got Depressed He Never Told The Truth ]
[ About His Intentions To Die ]

[ The Information That She Found Blew My Mind To Pieces ]
[ She Even Found Names Of Possible Nephews & Nieces ]

[ So He Said He Couldn’t Help Us Know A Man With Brant For
His Name ]
[ But He Stated That He Has An Uncle ( BRENT ) Who Sounded
The Same ]

[ He Told My Wife He Had His Number & North
Carolina Was Where He
Lived ]
[ He Had His Uncle’s Number & Then Said ( THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO GIVE ) ]

[ The Next Night I Sat Down & Picked Up The Phone ]
[ I Thought ( THIS IS LIKE WALKING INTO THE UNKNOWN ) ]

[ A Man’s Voice Came On & Sounded Kind Of Gruff ]
[ Asking Him About Five Questions Was Kind Of Rough ]

[ Then He Asked Two Questions That I Thought Was Strange
But Funny ]
[ ( WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME … DO YOU NEED A KIDNEY ) ]

[ That Was The Start Of What We Had ]
[ He Talked About The Kids Who Call Him Dad ]

[ Brent Was All Of The Family That I’ve Got ]
[ Now Death Has Taken Him ]
[ & All Of That Effort Was For Naught ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(173)▪︎[ You’re Gone Now … 2•23•2020 ]

[ Oh Brother Brent, Brother Brent ]
[ Now Who Am I Supposed To Call To Vent? ]

[ Besides My Son & My Wife ]
[ You Were One Of The Biggest, Most Important & Loved
Parts Of My Life ]
[ Now My Heart, Feels Like It’s Been Cut Out, With A Knife ]

[ Then One Night, When You Couldn’t Hang On ]
[ One Swipe Of Death’s Hand ]
[ & You Were Gone ]

[ Now I Sit & Wonder, About Where The Time Went ]
[ Who Is Responsible For The Bad Times That Were Sent? ]
[ It Wasn’t Superman ]
[ Or Clark Kent ]

[ What Ever Happened, I’ll Never Know ]
[ Why Did You, Have To Go? ]
[ I’ll Never Know ]
[ Why Do I Feel, So Low? ]
[ This, I Know ]

[ I Feel, For Your Family Members ]
[ They Will Always Have Memories Of You, That They Will
Remember ]

[ I Know, That I Do ]
[ I Will Always Remember The Days, When We Came Out
To North Carolina ]
[ & Met You ]

[ I Had To Wait ]
[ All Of Those Years ]
[ Until 1998 ]

[ We Were Apart For Over 30 Years, But Not Of Our Doing ]
[ Growing Up Knowing You Were Out There, But We
Could Not Meet ]
[ Was Quite Grueling ]

[ I Remember What You Asked When I First Called You In N.C. ]
[ ( WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME? ) ]
[ ( DO YOU NEED A KIDNEY? ) ]

[ I Thought That I Could Not Get That Comment From No Other ]
[ I Said To You ]
[ ( WELL, I AM CALLING YOU BECAUSE I THINK YOU ARE MY
BROTHER ) ]

[ I Didn’t Know What To Expect ]
[ But You Did Not Scoff & Show Disrespect ]

[ It Is Hard To Talk About You In The Past Tense ]
[ Especially When None Of This Makes Sense ]

[ We Hardly Scratched The Surface Of Brotherhood ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(174)▪︎[ The Ones That We’ve Got … 2•23•2020 ]

[ Here’s To The Ones That We’ve Got ]
[ So Long To The Ones That Are Not ]

[ Friends Sometimes Come & Go ]
[ Is Family The Only Ones That We Know ]

[ Family Is Not Only Through Blood ]
[ Sometimes So Called Family Have Veins Full Of Mud ]

[ They Don’t Always Have Your Best Interests @ Heart ]
[ Sometimes That Family Doesn’t Play The Part ]

[ Feel Blessed Because Of Those You Have Around You ]
[ Be Thankful If You Have One Good Friend ]
[ Be Ecstatic If You Have Two ]

[ Build An Environment Based On Love ]
[ Make It So It Fits You Like A Tight Glove ]

[ Show As Much Appreciation As Possible ]
[ Help Making Problems Plausible ]

[ Do Unto Others As You Want Done Onto You In Your Life ]
[ Treat All With Respect ]
[ Especially Your Children & Wife ]

[ Always Cherish ]
[ Never Embarrass ]

[ Because How Would That Feel ]
[ If You Found Out That Those Around You Were Not Real ]

[ Real In The Form Of Honest, Courteous & Sincere ]
[ Surround Yourself With Ones That Want You Near ]
[ But Always Make It Clear ]
[ If They’re Not Positive & Have Your Best Interests @ Heart ]
[ They’re Out Of Here ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

[ Are There Misunderstandings? … 12•14•2020 ]

[ Sometimes When We Need To Practice What We Preach ]
[ We Need To Learn What We Are Talking About, Before
We Attempt To Teach ]

[ Sometimes When I Show What I’ve Learned ]
[ You Should Give Me The Respect That I’ve Earned ]

[ For Me To Be Able To See The Other Side Of The Fence ]
[ & To Keep Me From Getting Tense ]
[ The Whole Idea That Is Put In Front Of Me, Must Make
Sense ]

[ As The Days Go By More & More ]
[ I Am Not Knowing If You Understand All Of My
Metaphors ]

[ During The Times That You May Be A Concrete Thinker ]
[ I Might Have On, My Creative Blinker ]

[ & You Will Be As Uncomfortable Taking On My Stress ]
[ As Much As I Would Look Bad Wearing Your Dress ]

[ We Each Have Our Own Cross To Bear ]
[ Just Like We Each Have Our Own Clothes To Wear ]
[ But Even As Much As We Try To Care ]
[ There Are So Many Stressers In Each Others Lives ]
[ That We Are Unaware ]

[ Of ]
[ That We Don’t Love ]
[ That Grip Us Like A Tight Glove ]

[ But What We Do Share ]
[ Is A Love For Each Other ]
[ That We Can’t Compare ]
[ Or That We Can’t & Don’t Find Anywhere ]

[ Else ]
[ Except From Within Ourselves ]

[ The Love & Understanding That We Do Not Give Any
Other Person In Our Life ]
[ Is The Love That We Have ]
[ & Have Gained ]
[ Because, For Almost 25 Years Now, We Have Been
Husband & Wife ]

[ @ That Very Second That I Said ( I DO! ) ]
[ I Knew ]
[ From That Point Forth ]
[ That The Only Thing That Mattered To Me For The Rest
Of My Life … Was You! ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(566)▪︎[ Heads Up … 7•10•2021 ]

[ It Is So Hard To Keep Treading Water, When The Waters Are
     So Rough ]
[ Keeping Your Head Up, When Life Gets So Tough ]

[ I Try To Rely On Others For My Meals & Care ]
[ Sometimes, When I Reach Out ]
[ Nobody Is There ]

[ I Cannot Keep Reaching Out, When I Have No Luck ]
[ I Cannot Buy Much, If All I’ve Got Is A Buck ]

[ Afterall, It Is The Almighty Dollar, That Makes The World
     Go Around ]
[ Sometimes It Is So Hard To Keep My Feet, Planted Firmly
     On The Ground ]

[ So Much Wrong Is Going On In The World, Right Now ]
[ You Look Sideways @ Someone & They Have A Cow ]

[ Actually More & More Simple Disputes Are Settled With
     Gun Fire ]
[ Every Which Way You Look ]
[ Someone, Is Being Called A Liar ]

[ Some People Have Actually Obtained An Allergy, With Sitting
     Down With Someone & Telling The Truth ]
[ It Is Like A Cavity, Overtaking A Front Tooth ]

[ Things Are Getting Way Out Of Hand, With How We Deal
     With Each Other ]
[ Kids Are Growing Up, Disrespecting Their Mothers ]

[ Whatever Happened To Lovin’ Thy Neighbor ]
[ Or Did That Go By The Wayside, Like Child Labor? ]

[ Marriages Are Being Thrown Away As Easily, As An Old Bic
     Pen ]
[ & Then, They Will Get Married & Divorced Again ]

[ No One Gets As Invested, Like They Used To Do ]
[ Some Marriages Only Lasts, A Year Or Two ]

[ Others, Are In It For The Long Run ]
[ Those, Are The Couples, That Makes Being Married Fun ]

[ Those Types Of People Live Better & Live Longer ]
[ They Love Life ]
[ So Their Relationships, Are Stronger ]

[ Some People Float In & Out Of Our Lives ]
[ Just Like Some Guys Carry Guns ]
[ While Others Carry Knives ]

[ People Are As Different To Each Other Like Two Different
     Fingertips ]
[ Or The Imprint, Of Two Lips ]

[ As Different As Two Snowflakes ]
[ The Differences Between Pies & Cake ]

[ Things Are Vastly Different ]
[ & People Can Be So Indifferent ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(559)▪︎[ I Gained A Friend … 7•8•2021 ]

[ I Entered Into A Friendship Many Months Ago ]
[ With A Young Lady That I Did Not Know ]

[ We Were Quite The Opposite Of Each Other ]
[ I Grew Up With (2) Sisters ]
[ & She Grew Up With More Than ½ A Dozen Brothers ]

[ I Am Quite Short & She Is Quite Tall ]
[ I Don’t Say A Thing About Her Height ]
[ & She Has Never Called Me Small ]

[ We Grew-Up In Vastly Different Towns ]
[ We Grew-Up Probably Saying Different Verbs & Nouns ]

[ Describing & Seeing Things Through Different Eyes ]
[ So Of Course We Had Different Lives ]
[ She Will Find Out That I Am Not An Ordinary Guy ]

[ But Then In November, Fate Put Her In My House ]
[ She Had A Great Interview With Me & My Spouse ]

[ Very Business Like, Is How She Came Off ]
[ We Threw Alot Of Information @ Her During Those Two
Hours ]
[ & She Never Got Lost ]

[ She Came Into Our Lives To Be Our Son’s ABC ]
[ Then She Became A Really Good Friend To Me ]

[ She Started Here Being Extremely Reserved ]
[ I Was A Grumpy Old Man Is How I Was Observed ]

[ Through Time ]
[ She Became The Main Subject Of Many Of My Rhymes ]

[ I Have Found That There Is A Beautiful, Fragile, Hilarious
Woman Under That Hard Shell ]
[ In Everything & Everyday She Does Mean Well ]
[ She Doesn’t Have A Negative Thought In Her Head ]
[ Even Though, I Have Felt That In Her Past She Was Put
Through Hell ]

[ My Heart Hurts When I Have Those Thoughts About Her ]
[ I Am Never Sure ]

[ I Will Never Ask ]
[ I Won’t Take On That Personal Task ]
[ Those Questions Will Stay Behind My Mask ]

[ She Calls Herself An Introvert ]
[ That Could Be Her Protective Armor ]
[ Because Of All Of Her Hurt ]

[ She Is Caring & Protective ]
[ She Is Finding Out That We Love To Give ]
[ That Is Just How We Choose To Live ]

[ We Were Once In Need In Our Younger Years ]
[ When We Give Now, Our Hearts Let Out Three Cheers ]

[ My Friend’s Employment Will End Here Within A Week ]
[ That Is Hard To Say ]
[ So This Story Was Written Because I Wanted To Write
Every Word That My Heart Speaks ]

[ So You See ]
[ Your Protective Armor Was Not Meant To Be Worn For Me ]

[ As This Story Comes To An End ]
[ I Want To Tell Her Thank You For Calling ME Your Friend ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(565)▪︎[ No More Pain … 7•9•2021 ]

[ Suicide Is Very Prevalent, In Today’s Society ]
[ It Can Be A Mental Disorder, Where People Suffer Quietly ]

[ As They Go Quietly In The Night ]
[ Because They Give Up ]
[ & Quit The Fight ]

[ Sometimes It Is Because They Have No More Energy To Keep
Fighting ]
[ So They Put Down Their Pen ]
[ After They Are Done Writing ]

[ Their Suicide Note ]
[ Then They Read, What They Just Wrote ]

[ They Wrote That Nothing Makes Them Happy, Anymore ]
[ Not Even A Friend, Walking Through The Door ]

[ Sometimes Days On End ]
[ Are Stayed Covered Up, In Their Bed ]

[ Only Getting Up For Drinks Or Food ]
[ Thinking That Whatever They Say, Will Be Misunderstood ]

[ Getting Up Fewer & Fewer Times, As The Hours Tick By ]
[ Because Of Their Depressive Moods ]
[ No One Comes By, To Say ( HI ) ]

[ The More Days That People Stay Away ]
[ The Less They Eat ]
[ & The Less That They Weigh ]

[ Sometimes Suicidal Thoughts, Consume Them ]
[ Getting Away From The Suicidal Thoughts, Becomes A Problem ]

[ Once They Have Decided To Take Their Pills ]
[ A Feeling Of Warmth, Pushes Out The Chills ]

[ Then They Quietly Lay Down & Close Their Eyes ]
[ No Longer Having To Listen, To Anymore Lies ]

[ When They Are Found, They Are Gone ]
[ Their Soul Has Moved On ]

[ Then, There Is No More Pain ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(194)▪︎[ When It Matters … 2•28•2020 ]

[ Today, Was Yesterday’s Tomorrow ]
[ No Matter, How You Look @ It ]
[ You Never Have Time, To Borrow ]

[ Sometimes It Seems, Like There Is Never Enough Time In
A Day ]
[ That’s Why Some People, Try To Find A Way ]

[ To Extend It, By An Hour Or Two ]
[ But, That May Not Be Able To Affect You ]

[ You Have To Make The Most, Out Of The Time You’ve Got ]
[ & For Some ]
[ That’s Not ]
[ Going To Be Alot ]
[ So, If You’re Numb ]
[ From Being, In Deep Thought ]

[ Snap Out Of It ]
[ Before Life Takes Your Spirit ]
[ Away, Bit By Bit ]

[ & Makes It Disappear ]
[ In The Clear ]
[ Clean Mirror ]

[ Because, There’s No Deflecting ]
[ What That Mirror, Is Reflecting ]

[ When Trying To Change The Reflection ]
[ Don’t Chase After Perfection ]

[ You’ll Tire Of The Amount Of Steps On Life’s Treadmill
That You’ll Have To Take ]
[ To Even Shake ‘N Bake ]
[ After The Horrible Earthquake ]

[ That You’ve Caused Through Change ]
[ Even Though You Really Tried To Stay Within Range ]

[ Of Those Who Matter ]

[ Change Can Be Good Or It Can Be Bad ]
[ Would It Make Someone Mad ]
[ Knowing What You Are Changing ]
[ Makes Others Sad? ]

[ Or Would You Forge Ahead, With Your Plan ]
[ Not Caring, What Any Woman Or Man ]

[ Would Lose ]
[ So It Really Does Matter The Path You Choose ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hou mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]