(361)▪︎[ Things Are Easier … 4•29•2021 ]

[ It Is So Easy To Live In The Land Of Make Believe ]
[ Looking For Someone Or Something That Will Give You A
     Second Of Relief ]

[ Sometimes It Is Really Hard To See ]
[ The Forest In The Trees ]

[ When In Fact The Trees Make It A Forrest ]
[ & You Are Trying To Find What Works The Best ]

[ Do You Believe What You’ve Heard? ]
[ Or Do You Only Go By The Written Word? ]

[ But By Whom? ]
[ Is Your Only Physical Contact With Society Is Your Weekly Get
     Togethers On Zoom? ]

[ It Is Much Easier To Be A Recluse ]
[ Than Turning Away Invitations With The Latest, Made Up Excuse ]

[ You Can’t Say That You Have To Stay Home To Wash Your
     Hair ]
[ Because You Personally Shave Your Head Twice A Week So you
     Won’t Have Any Hair There ]

[ Staring @ The Same Six Walls ]
[ Then Getting Your Food Delivered To You Everyday By Making
     The Same Four Calls ]

[ You End Up Having Long Conversations With Your Vacuum ]
[ Spending 25 Hours In The Same Pair Of Pajamas ]
[ On Your Unmade Bed In Your Back Bedroom ]

[ Your Imagination Still Runs Wild ]
[ You’ll Resort Back To The Many Behaviors You Had When
     You Were A Child ]

[ Your Imagination As A Child Was Amazing ]
[ Then You Started Vaping ]
[ & You Now Have Zero Control Of The Child That You Are
     Raising ]

[ That Is Your Biggest Downfall ]
[ When You Think Of It All ]
[ He Never Once Let You Coach Him In How To Catch/ Run
     With/ Field/ Throw/ Kick/Hit/Dribble/Pass Or Bounce
    A Ball ]

[ & You Could Show Everyone Through Your Shirt ]
[ How Much That Hurts ]

[ But Nobody Seems To See You Being Sad In The Shadows ]
[ Nobody Ever Knows ]
[ About The Hurt That Never Physically Shows ]

[ So Then What Do You Do? ]
[ Are There Any Clues? ]

[ You Just Relax In Your Own Space ]
[ Not Letting Others See Your Face ]

[ Your Family Wonders What Really Went Wrong ]
[ They Now Compare Your Life To A Sad Country Song ]

[ Of Course ]
[ This Doesn’t Mean You Lost Your Horse ]

[ You Just Let Your Life Move Along @ A Snails Pace ]
[ Not Interacting With Anyone @ Your Place ]

~ The End ~

[ Mahalo ]
[ A hui hou aku ]
[ Aloha ]   ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(360)▪︎[ The Weather … 4•29•2021 ]

[ Inside Every One Of Us Is A Storm Waiting To Rage ]
[ Are You The Rain, The Thunder, The Lightning ]
[ Or The Next Ice Age? ]

[ When There Are Storms @ The Beach ]
[ The Waves Crash So Hard & So Loud ]
[ You Cannot Hear Anyone Speak ]

[ Some People Have A Fascination With Storms ]
[ That Is Just Slightly Out Of Other Peoples Norms ]

[ Is It The Driving, Blinding Rain ]
[ That Floods The Outside Drains ]
[ That Drive Those People Insane? ]

[ Is The Flash Of The Lightning Or The Thunderous Boom ]
[ That Makes People Hide ]
[ Or Run Into The Inside Rooms? ]

[ The Weather Guy ]
[ Tells No Lies ]
[ When He Predicts That The Lightning @ Night ]
[ Will Light Up The Sky’s ]

[ Others Like The Calm & The Warmth That The Sun Brings ]
[ That Seems To Be When All Of The Birds Sing ]
[ It Also Has You Wonder ]
[ What Opportunities A New Day Will Bring ]

[ The Opportunities Would Be Endless ]
[ & If You Tried ]
[ It Would Knock You Senseless ]

~~ The End ~

[ Mahalo ]
[ A hui hou aku ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

(606)▪︎[ The Mind … 7•22•2021 ]

[ It Is Not Very Fun When You Get Lost In Your Own
Thoughts ]
[ It Is Disconcerting That When You Open Your Eyes
You See Spots ]

[ Feeling Like A Square Peg Being Pushed Into A Round Hole ]
[ It Burns You So Much Being Pushed & Pushed ]
[ It Aches @ Your Soul ]

[ You Set Off Flares & Yelling That You Don’t Fit ]
[ No One Listens ]
[ Or Even Cares Just A Little Bit ]

[ Then You Feel Pushed Aside & Being Told To Go Stand
With The Other Misfits ]
[ You Quickly Found Out That You Don’t Sit Near The Fan
When Someone Throws In The Shit ]

[ Pails Of Bullshit Being Thrown @ The Fan Night & Day ]
[ One Day Of Sitting Next To The Fan ]
[ You Will Try Really Hard To Get Up To Get Away ]

[ Where Do You Run Without Leaving A Trail A Mile Long ]
[ After Sitting Next To The Fan, The Stench Is Really Strong ]

[ A (30) Minute Shower Might Do You Some Good ]
[ Seeing What You Have Been Through ]
[ Everyone Understood ]

[ Being Put Under So Much Stress Flicks A Switch With
Your P.T.S.D. ]
[ That, Is Always, A Wait & See ]

[ Will It Awaken With The Slightest Touch? ]
[ How Can You Tell ]
[ When The Stress Is Too Much? ]

[ It Could Be A Noise? ]
[ A Voice? ]

[ A Combination Of The Two? ]
[ You Can Never Predict ]
[ What Your Mind Will Do ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(603)▪︎[ Family … 7•22•2021 ]

[ How Would I Describe ( FAMILY ) That Doesn’t Drop You With A
     A Thud ]
[ It’s What You Make ]
[ & Every Member Does Not Always Have To Be Blood ]

[ A Family Member Could Be A Longtime Friend Who Always Had
     Their Place Set ]
[ A Family Member Could Also Be This Great Person That You
     Just Met ]
[ An Automatic Place @ The Table For Blood Relatives Is Not
     Something They Get ]
[ & Those Are The People That Are The Most Shocked, I Bet ]

[ The First 16 Years Of My Life I Grew Up Side-By-Side With My
     Bio Older Sister ]
[ But Then Drugs & Alcohol ]
[ Turned Her Into A Category (5) Tornado Twister ]

[ Wrecking Havoc Of Everything In Her Path ]
[ She Did This Just As Well ]
[ As She Used To Solve Problems In Math ]

[ She Used To Be The Good Child ]
[ With So Little Restraints ]
[ She Decided To Turn Wild ]

[ I Used To Be The Troubled One ]
[ I Did Not Want To Spend My Time Studying ]
[ I Wanted To Play Sports & Have Fun ]

[ We Were Both Given The Same Chances ]
[ She Decided To Spend Her Weekends Smoking & Drinking ]
[ While I Enjoyed Going To The School Dances ]

[ She Used To Be Strong ]
[ I Wonder ]
[ If She Ever Wonders Where It All Went Wrong ]

[ Does She? ]
[ Or Doesn’t She? ]
[ I Wonder, What That Answer Would Be ]
[ Either Way, I Have Put That Question Behind Me ]

[ While I Was Competing In Sports ]
[ She Was Off Drinking ]
[ & Doing Snorts ]

[ She Would Be Telling Me Lies ]
[ If She Said That It Wasn’t Because Of Those Bad Boy Guys ]

[ That Lived Down The Street ]
[ Weren’t Those The Ones That She Snuck Out In The Middle Of
     The Night To Meet ]

[ Instead Of Spending The Last 25 Years Working On A
     Relationship With My Wife ]
[ I Could Have Just As Easily Been Sucked Into That Life ]

[ Anybody Could Have ]
[ But … Just Anybody Would Have? ]

[ In My Younger Years, I Tried A Thing Or (2) ]
[ But Then I Told Myself That Wasn’t Anything That I No Longer
     Wanted To Do ]

[ I Had Times When I Sunk ]
[ I Had Times When I Got In A Funk ]
[ But I Did Not Turn Those Times Into Being A Drunk ]

[ I Have Survived The Worst Of Times ]
[ I Have Survived After Being Down To My Last Dime ]
[ Right Now, I Have Been Blessed With The Ability To Write Stories
     That Rhyme ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(602)▪︎[ Who Does She … ? … 7•22•2021 ]

[ Yes, She’s The Bitch, She’s The Bitch ]
[ She’s The Bitch That Wears Black ]
[ She’s Stone Cold Sober ]
[ As A Heart Attack ]

[ When She Walks Around She Sets Down Clues ]
[ That In Her Eyes ]
[ That Makes Her Much Better Than You ]

[ In Her Mind ]
[ She Is Of The Better Kind ]

[ She Is So Dangerous ]
[ Because Her Kind Is So Cancerous ]

[ It’s The Way That She Grooves ]
[ That Makes The Transiton Go Really Smooth ]
[ & With Her Sultry Moves ]
[ She’s Got Nothing To Prove ]

[ Around Every Blind Corner ]
[ She Runs For The Border ]

[ She’s Not Pretty Enough For Pop ]
[ & She’s Not Cool Enough For Indie Rock ]

[ That’s Why Her Everyday Shoes ]
[ Has Her Singing The Blues ]

[ But Now She Knows ]
[ That She Can’t Go Where The Hip People Goes ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(604)▪︎[ Memories … 7•22•2021 ]

[ I Want To Grow Old With Memories That Make Me
     Smile ]
[ I Don’t Want My Memories To Last Only For Awhile ]

[ I Remember My Wedding Day ]
[ Like It Was Yesterday ]

[ Seeing My Beautiful Bride ]
[ Standing Up On The Alter ]
[ Getting Me To Tear Up & Making My Smile Get So Wide ]

[ Seeing Friends That Are In My Life & ]
[ & Were Before I Met My Wife ]

[ Our Time In Jamaica, The Blue Water & The White Sand ]
[ Being Carefree By Not Wearing A Watch ]
[ Making Zero Time Demands ]

[ My Time With My Wife When It Was Just Us Two ]
[ Driving Around Washington For Two Days ]
[ Because We Had No Plans For Anything To Do ]

[ Being In Your Parents Kitchen To Overhear ( THAT
    STARTED TRYING ) ]
[ Having The Nurse Put Our Newborn Son In My Arms
     & I Wouldn’t Stop Crying ]

[ Then Being @ Camp Attitude & Getting On A Horse @
     The Same Time As My Son ]
[ It Was A Big Deal To Even Get On One ]

[ That Was When B.D. Came Running To Me Yelling
     ( YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT! ) ]
[ Yes, I Did Do It ]

[ I Remember Getting Bucked Off One Horse & Then Almost
     Getting In The Head ]
[ That Was When I Was About (5) Years Old @ A Foster
     Home ]
[ That Was The Night One Of The Parent’s Son Wanted
     Me Dead ]

[ I Remember Barbara Saying So Long ]
[ When She Forced Me To Go Live With Don ]

[ I Remember That Year & A ½ Were Our Best Times, Ever ]
[ Once We Moved With Mary & Kenny ]
[ He Turned Into The Same Passive/Aggressive Prick That
     I Sadly Remembered ]

[ I Have Good Memories Meeting Nicole In The Fred Meyer’s
     Employee Break Room ]
[ In Under (2) Years Later I Became Her Groom ]

[ I Wish That I Had Memories Of When I Lived In Hawaii ]
[ I Guess My Mind Won’t Let Me Remember My Mom
     Abusing Me Daily ]

[ Because Of My Horrible Mother ]
[ I Was Separated From My Brother ]

[ I Have No Memories Of My Dad Shooting Himself ]
[ In Front Of Me & My Sister ]
[ After Trying To Take The Life Of Someone Else ]

[ Memories Can Come Back In A Flood ]
[ Trying To Guess One Up ]
[ Would Be A Dud ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(605)▪︎[ Calmer Atmosphere … 7•22•2021 ]

[ I Love It That I Can Enter EVERY Room In The House
     With Just A Turn Of The Doorknob ]
[ As Sure As Some People In My Life Still Calling Me
     Bob ]

[ No More Keypad Combinations ]
[ Needed ]
[ No More Hesitations ]
[ Heeded ]

[ If Company Is Around, I Will Lock My Room ]
[ But There Will Be No Reason To Lock My Bathroom ]

[ Unless The Dark Force Beckons Our Hall ]
[ But, First He Must Call ]

[ It Is Very Clear ]
[ @ Least It Should Be To Him ]
[ That He MUST Have Permission To Even Come Here ]

[ I Never, Ever Want To Live Under The Same Roof ]
[ Every Month I Will Need Physical Proof ]

[ That He Will Pay Another Month’s Rent ]
[ He Should Never Say That It Had Been Spent ]

[ If He Needs (2) Or Even (3) Jobs To Get By ]
[ He Needs To Be One Hella Busy Guy ]

[ If He Has To Work All Day, Everyday ]
[ Then, That’s Okay ]

[ As Far As I Am Concerned ]
[ He Had (3) Or (4) Years Worth Of ABC’s ]
[ & He Never Learned ]

[ Not One Lesson In Life ]
[ So Who Suffered? ]
[ Me & My Wife ]

[ I Would Be The Target Of His Hate ]
[ Last August Or September I Had Enough ]
[ & Yelled ( CHECKMATE ) ]

[ He Poked The Bear, One Too Many Times ]
[ He Stole One Too Many Dimes ]

[ Him & I Always Clashed ]
[ The Father – Son Connection Was Bashed ]

[ Bashed Down To Paste ]
[ It Never Was Made To Taste ]

[ If It Was, It Was Fermented ]
[ About (6) Years Ago He Really Went Demented ]
[ In A Huge Way ]
[ Our Future Connection Was Like The Worst Car In An
     Accident ]
[ The One That Was Completely Dented ]

[ I Want Our Empty Nest Home ]
[ Left Alone ]

[ All That I Care ]
[ About ]
[ Is That I Will Stay Here & He Will Stay Over There! ]
[ Especially If He Wants To Pout ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(601)▪︎[ What A Horrible Visit … 7•21•2021 ]

[ This Home Visit Was A Disaster From The Get-Go ]
[ The When, Was What We Did Not Know ]
[ So … ]

[ It Was Within The First (2) Hours ]
[ When Everything Went Sour ]

[ Then His Actions & Words Reminded His Mom About Why
     He Was Moved ]
[ He Came Here To Knock Me Out Of My Groove ]

[ When He Turned Into A Problem ]
[ I Would Not Let Him! ]

[ To Continue On This Path ]
[ He Was Making As Much Sense ]
[ As Trigonometry Math ]

[ When He Demanded That We Take Him Home ]
[ My Reaction Was Soon To Be Shown ]

[ I Told Him ( OKAY, LET’s GO! ) ]
[ He Counted On Me Saying ( NO! ) ]

[ The Way That I Was In The Past ]
[ I Knew Could Not Last ]

[ He Used To Leave Footprints On My Back ]
[ A Straight, Solid Spine Is What I Lacked ]

[ So Into My Life Came This Strong Willed, Stubborn & No
     Nonsense Caregiver For Me ]
[ She Really Taught Me How Things SHOULD Be ]

[ One Time Her Grandson Stole Her Credit Card ]
[ She Did Not Just Dismiss It Because He Was A Kid ]
[ No, She Let The Justice System Come Down On Him,
     Really Hard ]

[ I Listened & Learned From This Woman Who Seemed So Wise ]
[ This Woman Does Not Bullshit Through Her Life ]
[ Or Let Anybody Get Over On Her By Telling A Handful Of Lies ]

[ She Taught Me Well ]
[ She Told Me To Use My Five Senses ]
[ Especially My Sense Of Smell ]

[ If A Situation Smells Like Bullshit, It Probably Is ]
[ & To Never Get Bent Out Of Shape ]
[ From An Occasional Diss ]

[ But B.D. Loved To Test My Patience To No End ]
[ Now When He Does Something That I Don’t Like ]
[ I Know Longer Pretend ]

[ That Something He Did Does Not Bother Me Now ]
[ When I React With A ( WOW! ) ]

[ ( WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS RIGHT HERE? ) ]
[ I No Longer React With A Submissive ( OH DEAR ) ]

[ Maybe He Does Not Like This Straight, Strong Spine ]
[ Of Mine ]

[ It Has Been Rough ]
[ Being On The Path, To Becoming This Tough ]

[ When I Kept Saying That It Was Time For Him To Say
     ( BYE-BYE ) ]
[ All He Did Was Sit There & Cry ]

[ When I Went Near Him & Asked ( WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT? ) ]
[ He Would Stop & Shout ]
[ ( I WANT TO HAVE A DO-OVER! ) ]
[ When I Would Say ( THEY DO NOT EXIST IN REAL LIFE )
     He Would Pout ]
[ Then I Said ( THIS IS THE REASON WHY YOU WERE MOVED
     OUT! ) ]

[ I Kept Moving Him Towards The Door ]
[ I Kept Telling Him ( DON’t BRING YOUR DRAMA HERE
     ANYMORE ) ]

[ He Thought He Could Come Here To Throw A Rock Into Our
     Calm Pond ]
[ That, Right Then & There ]
[ Was When His Thinking Went Wrong ]

[ He Quickly Found ]
[ That His Thinking Errors Were Abound ]
[ & One Thing That He Did Not Figure On ]
[ Was That I Would Stand My Ground ]

[ We Were Finally Able To Drive Him Back To Where He Now
     Lives ]
[ When He Comes Here ]
[ He Still Has No Respect To Give ]

[ But He Can Now Take His Circus Act On The Road ]
[ Because Of His Temper ]
[ This Visit Was Blown ]

[ Better Luck Next Time ]
[ So Be On The Look-Out For Another Rhyme ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(116)▪︎[ Today’s Youth … 2•7•2020 ]

[ Has This Generations Youth ]
[ Ever Been Honest & Told The Truth? ]

[ Not To Sound Cranky & Mean ]
[ But Those Instances Are Few & Far In-Between ]

[ He Blames Me, The Adult ]
[ For His Behavior ]
[ & Problems That Are All His Fault ]

[ I Didn’t Raise Him To Curse @ Me ]
[ Also, This Is Far From What I Would Have Wanted Him To Be ]

[ After Years & Years Of Using Words To Cut ]
[ I Have Learned When & Where To Keep My Mouth Shut ]

[ Oh I Could Slice Him To Pieces ]
[ In Front Of My Nephews & Nieces ]

[ Where Would That Get Me By Treating Him That Way? ]
[ On That Day? ]

[ All It Would Get Me Is An Attack ]
[ As All Of The Other Adults Would Talk Smack ]
[ & I Would Get Nothing That I Care To Hear From Him ]
[ As He Talked Back ]

[ Day-In & Day-Out ]
[ I Get Nothing From The Words That He Shouts ]

[ His 18th Birthday Can’t Get Here Soon Enough ]
[ I Would Really Like To Say { PACK YOUR STUFF } ]
[ & Then Off! ]

[ & Take Your Bad-Ass Self ]
[ & Go Live With Someone & Somewhere Else ]

[ See How Fast Some Other People Will Force You Out Because
You Are Not Pulling Your Own Weight ]
[ They Will Probably Give You A Specific Date ]

[ To Get Your Act Together & Do What Needs To Be Done ]
[ Because They Are Probably Not Having Much Fun ]
[ Maybe One Of Them ]
[ Might Pull A Gun ]

[ There Will Not Be Someone Picking Up After You ]
[ & Because You’ll Have A Roommate Or Two ]
[ Who’ll Get Tired Doing What You Are Supposed To Do? ]

[ One Of Your Biggest Wishes ]
[ Will Not Be Always Skipping The Responsibility ]
[ When It’s Your Time To Do The Dishes ]

[ Everybody Has Things To Do Around The Apartment
Or House ]
[ You Can’t Always Get Out Of Bed ]
[ & Drop Down On The Couch ]

[ That Definitely Would Test The Bonds Of Friendship By Making
It Wear Thin ]
[ Then Maybe Someday You Will Be Locked Outside ]
[ & No One Will Let You In ]

[ So We Circle Back To Telling You That Your Mouth Always
Gets You Into Trouble ]
[ Well, Reality Is Going To Burst That Big Bubble ]
[ Barney Rubble ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(110)▪︎[ Thoughts Go ‘Round & ‘Round … 2•5•2020 ]

[ Where Do Thoughts Go, When They Are Not
Picked Out & Used? ]
[ Do They Rattle Around The Brain ]
[ Until It Looks Bruised? ]

[ That Does Not Sound Productive ]
[ What If The Brain Erupted? ]

[ From All Of The Abuse? ]
[ Could They Know The Reason ]
[ Or Would They, Make Up An Excuse? ]

[ What Good Reason Would They Have? ]
[ The Eruption, Bruised Almost (1) Half ]

[ Does That Half, Shrivel Up & Die? ]
[ What If The Change ]
[ Would Make Them Lie? ]

[ They Don’t Want To Be One Of Those Guys ]
[ Who Just Walks Around & Tells Lies ]

[ They End Up Being Friendless ]
[ & Then From Despair ]
[ They Become Homeless ]

[ So They’d Be Out Of A Job ]
[ Because They Lied Too Much To The Boss That’s Bob ]

[ Bob, The Boss ]
[ Is Sorry For Their Loss ]

[ But They Can’t Keep On Telling Lies When They Were Lost ]
[ Because Bob Showed Them The Cost ]

[ That Is Why I Play The Host ]
[ Of This Post ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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