(354)▪︎[ It Is ALL A Chance … 4•9•2020 ]

[ Is Love A Chance? ]
[ Is It A Crazy Dance? ]

[ Do You Lead With Your Heart? ]
[ Taking The Chance That It Could Be Taken Apart ]

[ Is That The Chance That We All Take ]
[ When That Is The Choice That Some Of Us Make ]

[ Sometimes It Seems That The Choice Is Not Ours ]
[ Some Days You Regret Your Decision Within Hours ]

[ & In Many Ways ]
[ For Many Days ]

[ Is It One Big Taunt? ]
[ That You Just Don’t Get One Thing That You Want ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(1114)▪︎[ 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 ]

(504)▪︎[ I Miss The Competition … 6•19•2021 ]

[ There Are So Many Times That I Miss When I Was Physically
Able To Compete ]
[ I Miss Going To The Gym On Sunday & Lifting Hard ]
[ Than Going On Monday To Repeat ]

[ The Feeling I Get When My Muscles Contract ]
[ The Feeling I Get When My Chest & The Bar Make Contact ]

[ Gripping The Bar Tight With Both Hands ]
[ Contracting My Body Like A Tight Rubberband ]

[ Even In Warm-Ups I Had Razor Sharp Focus ]
[ Bench Pressing Heavy Weights Did Not Use The Magical
Words Of ( HOCUS-POCUS ) ]

[ I Met The Powerlifting Team In The Summer Of 1994 ]
[ The Tequnique They Were Using Made Me Want To Watch
Alot More ]

[ I Took A Chance To Ask One Of The Team Members ]
[ I Told Him ( I MET YOU A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO IN THE
GYM ) ]
[ & I Was Hoping That He Remembered ]

[ It Was A Big Chance ]
[ Because He Looked Like He Didn’t Remember Me @ First
Glance ]

[ I Could See The Memory Come Back In ]
[ Then He Said ( HEY IT’s GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN ) ]

[ We Chatted & I Asked Him About Competing ]
[ I Felt Like This Was A Chance Meeting ]

[ He Then Went On To Say ]
[ To Come Meet The Team The Next Saturday ]

[ The Next Week In The Gym It Was Like The Start Of A Long
Time Wanted Dream ]
[ I Waited On The Side ]
[ Until He Introduced Me To The Rest Of His Team ]

[ They Were Large Muscular, Strong Looking Men ]
[ & Women ]

[ They Asked Me ( WHAT DO YOU WEIGH? ) ]
[ Everybody Went Quiet To Hear What I Would Say ]

[ I Said ( ABOUT 160 POUNDS, MAYBE ) ]
[ Then This Very Large Man, Who Was The Coach ]
[ Said ( HI MY NAME IS TERRY )

[ He Told Me That I Could Fit Into Their 165lb Slot ]
[ Then He Said ( LAY DOWN ON THE BENCH & LET’s SEE
WHAT YOU’ve GOT ) ]
[ Compared To Where I Ended Up In My Lifting Career ]
[ It Was Not Alot ]

[ My Overall Goal Was To Benchpress Three Times My
Bodyweight ]
[ Well That Dream Will Forever Have To Wait ]

[ My First Competition Was In The Summer Of 1995 ]
[ In 1998 I Showed That I Had Finally Arrived ]

[ I Set My First World Record @ The World’s In 1998 ]
[ That Was The Competition Where I Became A World
Champion Teammate ]

[ It Felt So Good To Get That First, First Place Trophy ]
[ @ The World’s ]
[ Nobody Can Take That Away From Me ]
[ I Went To A Total Of 3 World Championships ]
[ So By The End Of My Career, I Had A Total Of Three ]

[ My Benchpressing Goal Was 495 ]
[ & That Was No Lie ]
[ I Only Got To 475 ]
[ So I Was 20lbs Shy ]

[ I Started In ’94 As A Novice & The Team Needed To Show
Me ]
[ Everything About How To Lift ]
[ @ The End I Was A World Champion, Times Three ]
[ & Found That My Ability Was A Gift ]

[ Through Alot Of Hard Work & Support ]
[ Oh How I Miss Competing In That Sport ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(436)▪︎[ & There You Sat … 4•30•2020 ]

[ Here You Sit In Quiet Solitude ]
[ Looking For Any Way To Change Your Attitude ]

[ Oftentimes The Time Goes By Extremely Slow ]
[ @ Times Nighttime Comes ]
[ & You Didn’t Know ]

[ Today Became Yesterday So Fast ]
[ Tomorrow, Things That You Are Doing Today ]
[ Will Be Part Of Your Past ]

[ Have You Ever Realized That Today Was Yesterday’s
Tomorrow ]
[ & Now There’s No Time To Borrow ]

[ Because Tomorow Is The Day ]
[ When They Want ]
[ You To Pay ]
[ & It’s No Taunt ]
[ Because That Is What They Always Say ]

[ Yesteryear ]
[ Still Seems So Near ]

[ But It Also Feels So Long Ago ]
[ & Next Year Holds Some Events ]
[ That Right Now You Don’t Know ]

[ Is Knowledge What You Seek? ]
[ Did You Ever Buy Next Year’s Calendar ]
[ Just So You Could Take A Peek? ]

[ What Did You Hear, What Did You See? ]
[ Would You Find Your Birthday ]
[ & Say ( HEY, THAT DAY IS FOR ME! )? ]

[ It Is Nice To See What Day Of The Week Your Birthday
Falls On ]
[ For Some, In This Year ]
[ Their Birthday Was Already Gone ]

[ Memories Would Be All That They Had ]
[ Hopefully They Are All Good ]
[ & Not Many That Were Sad ]

[ Some People That You Felt That You’ve Known Since Birth ]
[ Caught THAT Train ]
[ & Left This Earth ]

[ Concentrate Your Energy On Those That Are Still Here ]
[ & Near ]

[ Don’t Think Tomorrow Is Too Far Ahead ]
[ Because In A Few Hours ]
[ You Will Put This Day To Bed ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(499)▪︎[ Oh, That Fun Son … 6•17•2021]

[ Nothing Is Sacred, Nothing, Is Out Of Bounds ]
[ Then, Nobody Makes Any Sounds ]

[ He Crosses The Line ]
[ Every … Single … Time ]

[ I Buy Something New & He Uses It ]
[ I Buy Something New & He Breaks It ]
[ Or Ruins It ]

[ It Doesn’t Matter What It Is ]
[ Whenever I Get Something New, He Thinks It Is His ]

[ He Comes Into Our Bedroom To Search ]
[ Like An Eagle Sitting On Their Perch ]

[ He Sets Off Such Rage ]
[ Because It Does Not Matter His Age ]

[ He Has Done This Since 8 Or 9 Years Old ]
[ Even @ Such A Young Age, He Was Very Bold ]

[ When Does This Stop? ]
[ When Can I Let The Restrictions Drop? ]

[ When Should I Make Him Leave? ]
[ Because He Doesn’t Fall In With What I Believe? ]

[ The Things He Is Doing Is So Disgusting & Crude ]
[ I Am Really Going To Start Giving A Cold Attitude ]

[ & What He Is Doing Is Gross ]
[ Like Trying To Eat A Piece Of Burnt Toast ]

[ Maybe He Will Cross The Line That Will Land Him In Jail ]
[ I Wouldn’t Accept Any Personal Mail ]
[ Because I Won’t Come Up With Money To Make His Bail ]

[ Maybe He Will Learn ]
[ When It Will Be His Turn ]
[ If Not … He Could Just Watch His Future Burn ]

[ Up ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(500)▪︎[ What You Can Bring To The Table … 6•17•2021 ]

[ There Comes A Time In Your Life When You Have To Pull Up
     Your Big-Boy Pants ]
[ There Will Be A Time & A Reason ]
[ It Would Not Be By Chance ]

[ Either ]
[ Nope, Neither ]

[ There Was A Time When You Had To Stop Acting & Being A Child ]
[ There Was A Time During Your Twenties ]
[ When You Had To Stop Going Out To The Clubs Getting Drunk
     & Acting Wild ]

[ It Is Not Like You Have Stopped Living ]
[ You Will Find That What Is Fun ]
[ Is When You Are Able To Bring People Together & Enjoy Gift
     Giving ]

[ Giving Is The Best Thing ]
[ The Worst Feeling ]
[ Is When You Catch Someone Stealing ]

[ You Hope To See People As They Really Are ]
[ You Don’t Get Impressed When They Drive Up In An Expensive
     Car ]

[ It Would Be Nice If People Would Take Each Other @ Their
     Word ]
[ Sometimes It Is A Nice Thought That Later In Life You Would Be
     Able To Travel The World ]

[ Trust In & From Others Is A Very Important Thing ]
[ When People Are Trusting That Is A Wonderful Quality
     To Bring ]

[ To The Table When You Meet Someone New ]
[ The Most Important Trait To Come With ]
[ Is The Ability To Just Be You ]

[ Not Someone Older ]
[ Not Someone With Bigger Shoulders ]

[ The Biggest Gift ]
[ Is When You Can Give All Of Yourself ]
[ Without Causing A Rift ]

[ Things Are Good ]
[ When You Are Understood ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

( 01 )▪︎[ That Loss … 1•1•2021 ]

[ Have You Ever Been @ A Loss For That One Word? ]
[ Because Of Something You Just Heard? ]

[ It Was So Bizarre, You Did A Double Take ]
[ When You Thought About It Real Deep ]
[ You Said ( WHAT SENSE DOES THAT MAKE? ) ]

[ When You Think Of Such ]
[ Of A Comment ]
[ You Know That It Was Not So Much ]

[ So It Was About Time ]
[ That He Went His Way ]
[ & You Went Home To Get A Glass Of Wine ]

[ & In Some Weird Way ]
[ That Helped ]
[ You Have A Better Day ]

[ So When You ]
[ Look @ That Clue ]
[ You Knew ]
[ What To Do ]

[ The Next Time You See Him, Say ( HI ) ]
[ & Then Also ]
[ Say Your ( GOODBYE ) ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(431)▪︎[ Have You Ever? … 4•29•2020 ]

[ Have You Ever Been So Out Of Sync ]
[ That When Someone Gives You A Wink ]
[ It Causes You To Blink? ]

[ Where Do You Look? ]
[ To Help You Explain ]
[ That You May Need To Find The Answer When You Read The
Right Book ]

[ Have You Stopped Giving A Damn? ]
[ So You Just Want To Go Back Outside ]
[ & Bury Your Head In The Sand? ]

[ How Do You Fill The Hole ]
[ In Your Soul? ]

[ What Would Fill The Hole Up ]
[ Real Tight ]
[ So It Stays Shut ]
[ Past Tonight? ]

[ Starting Above ]
[ The Middle Line ]
[ It Needs Lots Of Love ]
[ To Be Better Than Fine ]

[ Then You Find That You Do Not Like The Taste Of Dirt ]
[ So You Pull Your Head Out ]
[ & Deal With The Hurt ]

[ Hurt Can Eventually Subside ]
[ & Once Again You Feel Dignified ]
[ Unless Someone Lied ]

[ Then You Are Back To Where You Began ]
[ But This Time You Stand ]
[ Like A Grown Man ]

[ Without The Fear ]
[ Of Feeling Ridiculous & Ashamed ]
[ If You Happen To Shed A Tear ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(407)▪︎[ A Bad Flash … 4•23•2020 ]

[ I Just Came Out Of A Really Long, Hard Flashback ]
[ Now My Shoulder Hurts ]
[ But Not Even Close To The Pain That I Hurt In My
Lower Back ]

[ I Do Not Know What Is Causing These ]
[ If Anyone Knows ]
[ Could You Give Me The Answer Please? ]

[ & Right Away ]
[ If Not Today ]

[ Could You Bless Me With One Tomorrow? ]
[ Before I Have More Pain ]
[ & Sorrow? ]

[ Bad Back, Bad Back Go Away, Please ]
[ & If It’s For Only One Day ]
[ That Would Be A Tease ]
[ In Anyway ]
[ I Wish This Pain Would Ease ]

[ What Point Is It Trying To Make? ]
[ Subtracting Years Off Of My Life ]
[ Is What It Takes ]

[ & In It’s Place ]
[ Now I Have Much More ]
[ Wrinkles On My Face ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(395)▪︎[ If You Say So … 4•21•2020 ]

[ What Do You Do Next, When You Know What You Know ? ]
[ Do You Go ]
[ Where Others Say So? ]

[ Why Is That? ]
[ Why Not Be As Unpredictable & Wirey ]
[ As An Alley Cat? ]

[ What Is Holding You Down? ]
[ To Keep You Tied To A Tree In The Ground? ]

[ Can’t You See ]
[ How You Have Wanted & Needed To Be ]
[ Set Free? ]

[ To See The Things ]
[ That You Can Bring ]

[ You Can Be Colorful ]
[ & Loveable ]

[ But Sometimes That Is Not Very Fun ]
[ For Everyone ]

[ Nobody Likes To Be In A Place ]
[ Where Someone Is In Their Face ]

[ & It Makes Them Cough ]
[ So Others Back Off ]

[ Back Off & Back Up ]
[ When You Walk Out Through That Door ]
[ You Need To Make Sure That It Shuts ]

[ Behind You ]
[ Because That Will Undoubtedly Show ]
[ That You Do NOT Want To See This Through ]

[ Okay ]
[ You Say? ]
[ Okay ]
[ They Say ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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