(127)▪︎[ What Happened? … 2•9•2020 ]

[ What Is This Downside, That You Speak Of? ]
[ Are They Looking In The Wrong Places ]
[ For Their True Love? ]

[ Things Where They Live Cannot Be All That Bad ]
[ Maybe They Should Just Concentrate On Being
The Best Dad ]

[ They Can Be ]
[ Are They Really Talking Like That To Me? ]

[ Because They Try To Put Their Best Foot Forward Every Minute
Of The Day ]
[ But @ Times Things Just Don’t Swing Their Way ]

[ Sometimes They Feel That They Have Paid Their Dues ]
[ But Whenever They Watch T.V. ]
[ It Seems That They Never SawThe Clues ]

[ Then They Look @ Life Through Their Tired Eyes ]
[ & See That They Don’t Really Want To Be One Of Those
Ordinary Guys ]

[ They See That They Stress Themselves To Reach To Have Those
American Dreams ]
[ But In The Middle Of The Night They Are Startled Awake ]
[ By Their Own Screams ]

[ The Morning Comes & They Feel Like They Never Got Any
Sleep ]
[ In The Afternoons When They Need To Pay The Bills ]
[ They Do Nothing But Weep ]

[ They Open Their Checkbooks Wondering What Is There ]
[ Then All They Do Is Look @ The Negative Number ]
[ & Silently Stare ]

[ It’s The First Week Of The Month & They Wonder Where It
Went ]
[ They Look @ Their Empty Wallet ]
[ & Can’t Remember Where It All Was Spent ]

[ Are They Leaning Towards Giving An Excuse ]
[ Or Do They Have A Good Reason ]
[ So They Won’t Be Accused ]

[ Of Spending It All ]
[ Doing On-Line Betting ]
[ & Drinking Alcohol ]

[ Do They Get On Their Knees Went They Get Home ]
[ Well Some Things Will Never Be Known ]
[ Like Where Their Monthly Paycheck Was Blown ]

[ The Next First Of The The Month ]
[ Can’t Come Soon Enough ]

[ Then The Nightmare Starts All Over Again ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(125)▪︎[ 2 O’Clock In The A.M. … 2•9•2020 ]

[ It’s Two O’clock In The Morning & All Is Not Well ]
[ When I Walked In The Room ]
[ But I Couldn’t Quite Figure Out The Smell ]
[ It Was Like Pavlov’s Dog ]
[ Ringing The Bell ]

[ Is The Smell Supposed To Bother Me? ]
[ Or Make Me Wonder ]
[ What Could This Be? ]

[ Where Is It Coming From? ]
[ Are These Questions Dumb? ]
[ If They Are Not ]
[ Why Are They Making Me Numb? ]

[ I Try To Think About Which Direction I Was Supposed To Go ]
[ How Will I Know? ]

[ When Will The Signs Tell Me That I’m Headed In The Right Direction? ]
[ Would I Have To Make Any Corrections ]
[ To Make The Right Connections? ]

[ But Is This Going To Be The Norm? ]
[ Of Having The Feeling Like I’m Headed Into A Category (4) Storm? ]

[ The Winds From The Tornado Are Lifting Everything Up Off Of The
Ground ]
[ & Tossing Them All Around ]
[ Will Everything Be Eventually Found? ]

[ It Seems To Be Insightful ]
[ When You’re Doubtful ]
[ But That’s Saying A Mouthful ]
[ When You Let Someone Close To You ]
[ Know That They’re Untruthful ]

[ How Does One Rebound From Such A Disaster? ]
[ What Needs To Be Done After? ]

[ Can Some Of It Wait? ]
[ Until Tomorrow Morning After Eight? ]

[ You Quickly Find Out That It Can’t ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(105)▪︎[ Giving Up … 2•4•2020 ]

[ Right Now Some People Feel Like They’re In The Fight Of
Their Life ]
[ It’s Not Because Of A Stranger With A Knife ]

[ It’s From Fighting The Urge To Not Walk Towards The Bright ]
[ Shining Light ]

[ But It’s So Pretty ]
[ & The Warmth From The Beam ]
[ Feels Like A Soft Kitty ]

[ But What’s On The Other Side? ]
[ The Only Ones That Know ]
[ Have Gone Off & Died ]

[ Why Does Someone Walk Towards The Light When It’s Not
Their Time? ]
[ What If They’re In Their Prime? ]

[ & They Want To Just Call It Quits ]
[ Because @ This Point In Time, They Just Don’t Give A Shit ]

[ Where Did It All Go Wrong? ]
[ When Did They Stop Being Strong? ]

[ Maybe The Length ]
[ Of An Illness ]
[ Has Zapped Their Strength ]
[ & Willingness ]

[ To Go On ]
[ Their Drive Is Gone ]

[ But What About Those Left Behind? ]
[ Will Their Memories Help Remind? ]
[ Them ]
[ Of The Times They Went Out & Dined ]

[ A Picture Whispers A Thousand Words ]
[ When They Spoke ]
[ Were They Heard? ]

[ When They Were Young They Were Alert & Wired ]
[ Now That They Are Older ]
[ They Wake In The Morning Still Tired ]

[ Goodbye, Unyunghikaseyo, Adiōs, Au revoir, Sayōnara Is
What They Wrote ]
[ In Their Final Note ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(122)▪︎[ What Happened? … 2•8•2020 ]

[ Here I Sit All Broken Hearted ]
[ I Mistakenly Thought That We Had A Relationship Started ]

[ Where Did My Thinking Go Oh So Wrong? ]
[ It Seemed Like One Minute You Were Here ]
[ & The Next Minute You Were Gone ]
[ It Wasn’t Very Clear ]
[ That I Knew, What Was Actually Going On ]

[ Will You Help Me Straighten Things Out ]
[ & Let Me Know What Your Absence Is All About? ]

[ When Did The Direction Of Our Relationship Go South? ]
[ Was It When I Opened My Mouth ]

[ If It Was, What Did I Say? ]
[ If I Messed This Up ]
[ Tell Me, In What Way? ]

[ Is There Anythíng Left To Save ]
[ After We Parted With A Wave ]

[ I Thought, For Sure We Were On Good Terms ]
[ Tell Me, What Do I Have To Learn? ]
[ Are The Bridges Burned? ]

[ Teach Me? ]
[ Help Me See ]
[ How I Can Get To Be, The Best That I Can Be? ]

[ So Do You Know? ]
[ Where This Is Going To Go? ]

[ If You Don’t, Why Not? ]
[ Don’t You Realize What You’ve Got? ]
[ I Thought ]
[ That I Really Meant Alot ]

[ Where Is Your Mindset? ]
[ What Did You Want To Get? ]
[ When We First Met? ]

[ Were We Not, Then? ]
[ If Not, When? ]

[ Since I know That We Cannot Begin ]
[ Again ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(98)▪︎[ Why Good People? … 2•1•2020 ]

[ Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People Everyday ]
[ We All Are Just Treading Water In This Big Sea, Called Life ]
[ Looking For The Way ]

[ That We Are Supposed To Go ]
[ Because As We Grow ]
[ We Can Come To The Resolution That @ Times ]
[ We Just Don’t Know ]

[ If We Should Go Straight ]
[ & Run Into A Locked Gate ]

[ Or Make A Hard Right ]
[ & Stop ]
[ Before We Get To That Bright Light ]

[ Because That Light Is An Oncoming Train ]
[ That Is Trying To Mess With Our Brain ]
[ Making Us Ask Ourselves ]
[ ( ARE WE OKAY, OR INSANE? ) ]

[ Then Someone Asks You ]
[ { IS THERE A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? } ]
[ If There Is ]
[ Then Who Knew? ]

[ Who Knows How To Really Define What’s Going On In Your
Own Head ]
[ Before You’re Dead? ]

[ Can You Learn To Thrive ]
[ While You Are Alive? ]

[ Does Your Ego Need A Boost Every Now & Then? ]
[ If So, When? ]

[ It Is Also So Sweet ]
[ To Be Able To Ignore Those Ridiculous Tweets ]
[ While You Are Still Standing On Your Own Two Feet ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(550)▪︎[ Big M Is My Hero … 7•5•2021 ]

[ Wow, It Is Fire Season Again? ]
[ Why Does It Even Have To Begin ]

[ I Meant It When I Said That You Are One Of The Hardest
     Working Men That I Know? ]
[ You Don’t Even Know How To Go Slow ]

[ When You Start A Project You Are Done Sooner Than
     Projected ]
[ When You Start A Project The End Result Is Always
     Better Than Expected ]

[ It Takes A Special Kind Of Man To Be A Wildlife Fire
     Fighter Such As Yourself ]
[ With The Exception Of You Guys ]
[ There Is Nobody Else ]

[ Hey This Summer Could I Get A Cool Sweatshirt That
     I Could Count As My Own? ]
[ If I Do, My Mind Will Be Blown! ]

[ I Have Just Gotten Used To You Being Around ]
[ I Have Really Been Enjoying Having You Around ]
[ I Have Been Liking The Visits When You Come Around ]

[ Your Job Is Not Done Here ]
[ We Still Need To Get Him Out Of Here ]

[ It Started With Him Looking Up To You ]
[ Then You Gave Him What Was Way Overdue ]

[ When We Met You Were Kind Of Reserved & Quiet ]
[ Now You Are A Riot! ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(581)▪︎[ Nancy Jo’s Burgers … 7•14•2021 ]

[ It Was A Hot July Day ]
[ The Time Was Around 1:00 In The Afternoon ]
[ & We Wanted To Find A Good Restaurant Where We Could
     Sit & Stay ]

[ As Long As We Wanted ]
[ Without Being Taunted ]

[ We Remembered This Great Burger Joint Off Of Commercial
     Street ]
[ They Have Freshly Made Burgers That Can’t Be Beat ]

[ But I Had A Memory That Soon Made A Point ]
[ About The Last Time That We Ate @ One Of Their Burger
     Joints ]

[ It Was The Woodburn One, Where Four Of Us Went To Eat ]
[ When We Inquired About Eating Inside & Taking A Seat ]
[ This Rude Cashier, Pretty Much Said We Could Get Our Food ]
[ But, We Would Have To Take It Outside To The Street ]

[ We Ordered Our Food, Then Defiantly Sat @ A Table ]
[ I Thought That If Their Sign Still Said ( OPEN ) ]
[ Then We Were Able ]

[ The Food Came Out & Of Course It Was Good ]
[ But That Cashier Remained Standing Right There In A Bad, Fuming
      Mood ]
[ Thinking That We Misunderstood ]

[ But Then She Had The Gall ]
[ To Make This Intercom Call ]

[ She Yelled Out A Name Very Loud … Twice ]
[ If I Was The Person She Called I Would Not Have Gone
     Up There ]
[ Because She Did Not Sound, Very Nice ]

[ Then She Said ( CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS? ) In
     A Very Loud Voice ]
[ I Thought That Her Deciding To Say That Was The Most Horrible
     Choice ]

[ Of Words ]
[ That I Have Ever Heard ]

[ In A Restaurant ]
[ That Loud Woman Was No Polite Little Debutante ]

[ Even Though The Food Gives Out A Great Smell ]
[ She Didn’t Represent The Business Very Well ]

[ I Went Up To The Loud Woman & Asked For The Phone
     Number Of The Owner ]
[ She Gave It To Me, But I Did Not Like The Tone,
     Coming From Her ]

[ She Acted Like I Was An Inconvenience By Just Being
     There ]
[ The Mood That I Was In ]
[ I Really Didn’t Care ]
[ So, I Matched Her Stare For Stare ]

[ I Called The Number & It Just Rang & Rang, Then Stopped
     Without Any Voicemail ]
[ I Think The Call Failed ]
[ Because She Handed Me Bullshit, In A Pail ]

[ I Went Back Up & Got The Cooks Attention, This Time ]
[ I Gave Him A Tip That Was (30) Times Better Than A Dime ]

[ & When We Were Done & That Little Bitch Wondered If She
     Would Get Any? ]
[ I Left Her A Message With An Unspoken Word ]
[ By Leaving Her A Single, Dull Penny ]

[ But Today We Ate @ The Salem ( NANCY’S JO’S BURGERS &
     FRIES ) ]
[ If I Said That They Make The Best Burgers ]
[ I Would Not Be Telling You Lies ]

[ Nikita Was The Manager/Cashier With Her Left Arm In A Sling ]
[ But That Didn’t Stop Her From Doing Most Of Everything ]

[ She Is Polite, Courteous & Fast When She Rings Things Up ]
[ She Will Hand The Order To The Back ]
[ Then She Will Give You Your Change, While Handing You
     A Cup ]

[ Who Needs Two Good Arms When Nikita Is Around? ]
[ She Takes The Place Of Three People, I’ve Found ]

[ The Burgers & Fries Were Great ]
[ & So Were The (2) Milkshakes ]

[ Our Whole Experience, From Greeting To Goodbye, In Salem
     Were (5) Stars Above Woodburn ]
[ The Next Time We Are Up There We Won’t Give It Another
     Turn ]

[ Woodburn Was As Bad As Salem Shines ]
[ We Went To One Place, Once Too Many ]
[ We Will Continue To Go To The Salem One Many More
     Times ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(573)▪︎[ Almost Moving Day … 7•13•2021 ]

[ Well, Tomorrow Is The Big Day ]
[ & What Can I Say? ]

[ Good Luck! ]
[ Go Ducks! ]

[ I Don’t Really Know ]
[ This Day Took A Really Slow ]

[ Time, Getting Here ]
[ & Now It Is Near ]
[ & The Date Is Marked So Clear ]

[ I Am Not Jumping Up & Down For Joy ]
[ Like A Wind-Up Toy ]
[ Because He Will Always Be My Boy ]

[ But There Is The Fact ]
[ About How Dangerous He Acts ]

[ To Me & Others ]
[ Even Towards His Mother ]

[ Clear To His Soul ]
[ He Has Become Out Of Control ]

[ When He Gets Confronted, He Clenches His Fists ]
[ & That Shows That He Is Pissed ]

[ Off ]
[ & All Of His Common Sense Is Lost ]

[ So, Yes It Is About Time That He Takes His Groove ]
[ & Move ]

[ See How He Deals With Others After The Honeymoon
Stage ]
[ Is Over ]
[ & He Acts (4) Years Younger Than His Actual Age ]

[ Than They Will See The Actual, Real Him ]
[ & He Becomes A Problem ]

[ I Was & Am Tired Of The Rampant Disrespect That He
Shows ]
[ & How He Thumbs His Nose ]

[ @ Whatever I Have Said ]
[ & Does Whatever He Wants To Do Instead ]

[ Just Like It Is Almost Moving Time ]
[ This Is The End Of This Specific Rhyme ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(557)▪︎[ More Stress … 7•7•2021 ]

[ Stress Spreads Out From Sea To Shining Sea ]
[ Sucking In The Air ]
[ Keeping You From Feeling Free ]

[ Freedom For You Seems Like A Myth ]
[ Kind Of Like A Dog Chasing A Stick ]

[ Will It Be Into The Ocean, Or Across The Yard ]
[ Making The Ability To Find It, Extremely Hard ]

[ It Can Be Exclusive ]
[ Or Inclusive ]

[ Depending On The State ]
[ That Could Also Depend On The Wait ]

[ Is Freedom Worth Waiting For? ]
[ Worth Knocking On Every Door? ]

[ What Would Be The Norm? ]
[ It Would Be In What Form? ]

[ Would It Make You Conform ]
[ Because A Rag Soaked In Choroform ]

[ Was Put Over Your Mouth & Nose ]
[ Because That Was What Somebody Chose? ]

[ Then You Ask ]
[ Behind Your Covid Mask ]

[ ( IS THIS REALLY WHAT FREEDOM IS? ) ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(558)▪︎[ Better Now Or Not? … 7•7•2021 ]

[ Are You Better Off Now, Than You Were Before? ]
[ When You Went Into Your House A Year Ago ]
[ & Closed The Door? ]

[ On Everyone That Did Not Live There ]
[ If They Didn’t ]
[ It Did Not Matter From Where ]
[ Because Death Was Everywhere ]

[ How Are Your Relations With Strangers Now? ]
[ They Are Good? ]
[ How? ]
[ Things Are Just Misunderstood? ]
[ Wow! ]

[ Do You Talk To Strangers Anymore? ]
[ When Your Doorbell Rings ]
[ Are You More Wary Now Than Before ]
[ COVID ’19 ]
[ About Who Is On The Other Side Of The Door? ]

[ How Are Your Views On The Issue Of Race? ]
[ Does It Still Matter About The Color ]
[ Of Another Person’s Face? ]
[ When Looking @ Another ]
[ Why Should It Matter In The First Place? ]

[ You Don’t See Strangers, Stopping & Talking ]
[ You Only See Strangers Walking ]

[ Walking Right By ]
[ Without So Much As Saying ( HI ) ]
[ & No One Looks You In The Eyes ]

[ How Are People Supposed To Start Meeting? ]
[ How Are People Supposed To Meet & Go Out Eating? ]

[ Singles Are Meeting Through Computer Apps & Sights ]
[ Without Meeting ]
[ They Are Spending Their Nights ]

[ Swiping Left Or Swiping Right ]
[ No Arguing, That Causes A Fight ]
[ Even If It Did ]
[ Nobody Is In The Same Room @ Night ]

[ You Still Find It Safer Leaving Your Mask On ]
[ Because The Virus Is Not Gone ]

[ You Don’t Think Things Are Better Off? ]
[ Nobody Can Get Back The Time, Money Or Lives That Were Lost ]

[ That Doesn’t Make Now, Better Than Before The ‘VID ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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