(425)▪︎[ Off The Fence … 5•20•2021 ]

[ As Anxiety & Depression Sweeps Across My Cloudy
     Mind ]
[ I Sit Back & Attempt To Find ]

[ Something In My Life That Actually Makes Sense ]
[ Something, Where I Can Say I Am On This Specific Side
     Of The Fence ]

[ Not Straddling Or Standing On Top ]
[ I Want To Pick A Side & Just Stop ]

[ The Hopping ]
[ The Dropping ]
[ The Shopping ]

[ For A Better Deal ]
[ Because I Am Not Trying To Reinvent The Wheel ]

[ I Am Just Trying To Make A Stand ]
[ No Matter The Demand ]

[ & Try To Get My Mind Into Better Shape ]
[ Instead Of Keeping In Mind Where All Of The Exits Are For A
     Quick Escape ]

[ I Am Trying To Face These Issues Head-On ]
[ Instead Of Throwing Up My Arms In Defeat & Yelling
     ( OH, C’mon ) ]

[ Don’t Exasperate ]
[ When Looking Down @ My Fate ]

[ Trying To Lace Up My Big Boy Boots ]
[ Looking Somewhere To Put Down Some Roots ]

[ Not Trying To Wait ]
[ Since I Have Been In This House Since 2008 ]

[ What Better Place To Do That Than Here? ]
[ What Do I Have To Fear? ]
[ That Part … Has Never Been Clear ]

[ Like A Very Wise President ( F.D.R. ) Once Said ( … THE ONLY
     THING THAT WE HAVE TO FEAR, IS FEAR ITSELF ) ]
[ Not Fear Of Ourselves ]
[ Or Fear Of Someone Else ]

[ I Think That The Fear Of Failure Is A Very Real Thing ]
[ I Think, That If There Was A Ranking ]
[ That Would Be The King ]

[ Is That Easy To Look Past? ]
[ You Can Never Do That Very Fast ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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


    

(418)▪︎[ Social Injustice … 5•17•2021 ]

[ The Footage Sparked Outrage Across The Nation ]
[ America Has Now Been Reduced To Fractions ]

[ This Fraction Of People See’s The George Floyd Murder
     Tape This Way ]
[ Another Fraction Of People See The Tape ]
[ & They Decided That They Sure Had Alot To Say ]

[ A Paramedic In-Training Tried To Give Floyd Some Medical
     Attention ]
[ To Check His Pulse & Breathing ]
[ Not To Administer Medication ]

[ Christopher Martin Stated That He Wished That He Had Never
     Made The Call ]
[ That Started This All ]

[ He Has Been Racked With Guilt Ever Since Then ]
[ He Feels That If He Would Not Had Made The Call, None Of This
     Would Have Happened ]

[ In The Video He Had His Hands On His Head Looking & Acting
     Stressed ]
[ Thinking That He Caused All Of This Mess ]

[ That Stress Should Not Have Been Laid Upon His Young
     Shoulders ]
[ How Will This Affect His Life As He Grows Older? ]

[ How Many Of Those Bystanders Called 911? ]
[ Because Of Chauvin’s Actions ]
[ The Only Thing That Chauvin Did Not Do, Was Use His Gun ]

[ The Fault For This Lies Squarely On Chauvin’s Head ]
[ It Was Completely His Actions That Caused George Floyd
     To Be Dead ]

[ Those Bystanders Witnessed A Murder Right In Front Of
     Their Eyes ]
[ Because Of The Police Body Cams & The Bystanders Recording
     EVERYTHING On Their Phones ]
[ The Public Did Not Have To Be Forced Into Believing All Of The
     Police Officers Lies ]

[ Oh, I Am Sure That The Officers Would Say That Floyd Died
     From Acute Problems ]
[ Because Of The Drugs In His System ]

[ Chauvin’s Body Language During That Whole Video Showed
      That He Was Very Relaxed ]
[ While Floyd’s Breathing System Was Taxed ]

[ Chauvin Did Not Show Any Sign That His Life Was In Any
     Danger ]
[ Chauvin’s Demeanor Seemed Calm ]
[ There Was No Sign Of Anger ]

[ Floyd Had @ Least Two Other Cops Holding Him Down ]
[ Floyd Was A Very Large Man ]
[ Nobody Was As Big As Him Around ]

[ That Did Not Mean That He Deserved To Be Tortured ]
[ While He Was Being Murdered ]

[ Chauvin Did His Part ]
[ Because He Had Evil Intentions In His Heart ]

[ Chauvin Did Not Seem Affected By George’ Condition
      When He Got Up ]
[ Maybe Because Floyd Showed No Wounds Or Cuts ]

[ Outwardly Floyd Looked Fine ]
[ He Wasn’t ]
[ Because Chauvin’s Actions Caused Floyd To Die ]

[ Everytime That I See That Video I Try To Come Up With
     The Right Verb ]
[ But I Keep Coming Back To The Same One … Disturbed ]

~ The End ~

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



     

(423)▪︎[ Happy Birthday … 5•19•2021 ]

[ When The Sky Is Hazy ]
[ The Violets Turn Blue ]
[ My Love Seems Crazy ]
[ While I Make This Birthday Wish For You ]

[ Sometimes Things That You Do, Drive Me Bat Shit
     Crazy, But Never Enough To Walk Away ]
[ For A Minute, Hour, Or Day ]

[ You Are The Center Of My Life ]
[ You Have Been Ever Since You Said That You Would
     Be My Wife ]

[ it Has Been An Up & Down Bumpy Ride ]
[ You Did Not Lie ]
[ When You Made Me A Deal That You Would Always Stand
     By My Side ]

[ My Love Has Grown For You Since That First Day ]
[ I Am Thankful That We Pulled Together Through The Hardest
     Years That We Have Ever Had ]
[ & Neither One Of Us Tried Or Wanted To Runaway ]
[ Happy Or Sad ]
[ We Both Decided To Stay ]

[ I Think This Will Be The 26th Birthday To Celebrate Together ]
[ Our Bond That Binds Us Is Stronger Than Leather ]

[ Some Say That Wishes Do Not Come True ]
[ Well I Know One We Saw & ]
[ & Made It All The Way Through ]

[ @ The Time It Was My Biggest Wish ]
[ It Was To Change Our Last Name To Devoe ]
[ & Never, Ever Have To Say That Our Last Name Was ( BISH ) ]

[ Every Morning That I Wake Up Next To You On Our
     King Size Bed ]
[ I Feel As Lucky & In Love Since The Day That We Wed ]

~ The End ~

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

(371)▪︎[ Where Is This Going? … 5•7•2021 ]

[ When You Leave Home To Go To Work, Does That Mean
That You Never Had Work @ Home? ]
[ What If You Feel @ Home Where You Work? ]
[ Can You Also Feel Like You Have Work To Do @ Home? ]
[ Some Say That Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat ]
[ What If You Only Have Clothes & Pictures To Hang? ]
[ Does That Mean That You Are Never @ Home? ]
[ What Is The Difference Between A House & A Home? ]
[ Everything ]
[ The Word ( HOUSE ) Has One More Letter ]
[ ( HOUSE ) Has One More Vowell ]
[ The Letters Are Completely Different Letters, Except
     For Three Letters ]
[ The ( H ), The ( O ) & The ( E ) ]
[ What Would You Be Missing If You Did Not Have The Those
     Letters? ]
[ One Less Gardening Tool ]
[ Are You A Pessimist, If, When Telling Time You Say
     ( HALF PAST THE HOUR ) Instead Of ( 30 MINUTES UNTIL )? ] [ Speaking Of That ]
[ How Come ( HAY ) Is Horse Food & ( HEY ) Is A Casual Greeting ] [ ( HI ) Is Another Casual Greeting, But ( HIGH ) Is What Alot Of
     People Do Behind Closed Doors ]
[ ( BEHIND ) Is In The Back Of The Group ]
[ & ( BEHIND ) Is What Some People Has That Gets Kicked ]
[ Well It Could Also Mean That You Are Not Keeping Up With
     Something Or Someone ]
[ How Can The Word ( ASS ) Have Three Different Meanings? ]
[ Okay ]
[ ( WELL ) Now That Has Two Different Meanings ]
[ ( HOW ) Has Two Different Meanings ]
[ ( CAN ) Has Four Different Meanings ]
[ ( MEAN ) Has Three ]
[ ( DO ) Has Three Different Spellings, Meaning Different Things ] [ ( OBJECT ) Has Two Different Meanings ]
[ ( DRINK ) Has Three Different Meanings ]
[ Even ( DRUNK ) Has Two Different Meanings ]
[ One Is In The Present Tense & One Is The Past Tense ]
[ The First Tents Could Possibly Mean There May Be More ]
[ Would They Set The Tents Up In The Front Yard Or The
     Backyard? ]
[ If They Set Up Tents In The Front Yard, Why? ]
[ Who Are These People That Are Setting Up The Tents On The
     Sidewalk Anyways? ]
[ What Was Wrong With The Front Yard? ]
[ I Still Don’t Know Who These People Are? ]
[ Who Has This Many Tents? ]
[ If They Do Set-Up In The Front Yard, What If The Humane Society
     Is Called About All Of The Stray Cats & Gerbils? ]
[ Do Gerbils Bark When They Drop & Squat? ]
[ If They Set Up Their Tents In The Backyard, Who Let Them Back
     There? ]
[ What About The Rabbits That Are Living In The Attic? ]
[ They Ate Every Single Piece Of Celery That I Had In The Glove
     Compartment Of The Police Car ]
[ A Really Nice Fire Fighter Flipped Me The Bird Because I Pulled
     My Shorts Down & Mooned Him ]
[ You Don’t Think That He Had Any Bad Intentions For
     That Finger, Do You? ]
[ The Two Police Marines Were Very Nice, Then Gave Me A Ride
     Home From The Liquor Store ]
[ I Guess The Bartender @ The Lawn & Garden Section Thought
     That I Was Only There To Pick-Up Chicks ]
[ I Had To Show That I Had Chickens In My Purse Too ]
[ But When I Was Walking In That Ambulance I Told The Single
     Country/Western/Punk Rocker/Swing Dancer That I Had To
     Pee ]
[ They Both Said That The Light Just Turned Red So It Was Time
     To Swim Another Lap ]
[ I Thought That Was A Great Idea ]
[ Because I Will Just Pee In The Pool & Then Walk On The
     Treadmill ]
[ But Whatever Happened With The Tents? ]

~ The End ~

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

(370)▪︎[ Love You … 5•6•2021 ]

[ To My Wife ]
[ The One Woman Whom I Said That I Will Love For
     The Rest Of My Life ]

[ When I Said ( I DO ) ]
[ That I Will ]
[ Love You ]
[ Then ]
[ & I Want To Tell You That I Love You Still ]

[ There Is One Thing That I Know ]
[ That It Was Well Over 9,133 Days Ago ]
[ When I Decided That I Could Never Let You Go ]

[ It Would Certainly Hurt The Heart Of This Plain, Old,,
      Ordinary Guy ]
[ If Another Man Could Catch Your Eye ]

[ I Am A Simple Man With Really Simple Tastes ]
[ As I Get Older ]
[ I Am Sorry About My Ever Expanding Waist ]

[ We Are Not The Spring Chickens Anymore ]
[ So We Cannot Dance As Long As We Did Before ]

[ I Always Love Telling New Acquaintenances Our Wonderful
     Love Story ]
[ I Must Have Told It @ Least 25 Times ]
[ & It’s Never Boring ]

[ It Sure Has Been A Bumpy Ride ]
[ I Tell Everyone About Our Longevity With Pride ]

[ If I Had The Choice To Do This All Over Again ]
[ I Would Say ( YES ) ]
[ Again & Again ]

[ I Think The Phrase I Was Looking For Was ( IN A NEW
     YORK MINUTE ) ]
[ Yes, I Will Jump Back In It ]

[ Meeting You Almost 27 Years Ago Was Perfect Timing ]
[ Who Knew That Four Years Ago ]
[ I Would Receive The Gift From God That I Could Write
     Stories That Are Rhyming ]

[ We Have Been Through So Much, But We Stayed
     Together ]
[ We Never Discarded Each Other When There Was A Change
     In The Weather ]

[ Since We Live In Oregon There Are 10 Changes Every Day ]
[ When The Negative People Voiced Their Opinion ]
[ We Continue To Stay ]

[ We Are Good With Hunches ]
[ & We Have Never Resorted To Throwing Punches ]

[ We Never Touch Each Other In An Angry Way ]
[ We Keep Loving Each Other Even Though The Hair On My
     Head Nearly All Went Away ]

[ It All Went Away To La-La Land ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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


    

    
    
    

(362)▪︎[ The Frustration Sets In … 4•30•2021 ]

[ As The Frustration Sets In ]
[ I Said To Myself ( NOT THIS AGAIN ) ]
[ Then I Think ( I JUST CAN’t WIN ) ]

[ So You ]
[ Think That This Is All Brand New? ]
[ Well Let Me Tell You A Thing Or Two ]

[ This Is Something Real ]
[ You Are Not Reinventing The Wheel ]

[ Here ]
[ Do I Make Myself Clear? ]

[ I’ve Tried & Tried ]
[ As He Has Lied & Lied ]
[ After All Of This Time ]
[ Part Of Me Has Actually Died ]

[ So Don’t Come In Here & Point Your Finger ]
[ @ All Of This ]
[ Because What Lingers ]
[ Is The Constant Diss ]

[ You Have Been Here A Grand Total Of About A Week ]
[ & I’ll Sit Here & Let You Speak ]

[ Your Piece ]
[ & I’ll Say Nothing ]
[ Just To Keep The Peace ]

[ So I Will Watch You Dance]
[ & Give You The Chance ]

[ Because As You Think You Are Rearranging ]
[ His Attitude ]
[ I Say That Are Only Changing ]
[ The Altitude ]
[ & Are Hanging ]
[ My Gratitude ]

[ You Have All Of These Ideas That You Think That Are Grand ]
[ Then I Will Sit Quietly ]
[ Wanting To Ask ( AND? ) ]
[ So Don’t Come @ Me Self-Righteously ]
[ Acting Like You Are In Command ]

[ Normally, I Am A Very Calm Guy ]
[ But In MY Home ]
[ This Just Doesn’t Fly ]

~ The End ~

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

(370)▪︎[ The PTSD That I Have Come To Know … 5•2•2021 ]

[ There Are Times When I Feel Like I Could Get So Lost In
     My Mind ]
[ But In There Lies The Danger Of The Memories ]
[ That I Hate To Hit The Button To Rewind ]

[ The Thick Air Of That Hot August Day In The Year
     2002 ]
[ When That Flashback Comes ]
[ There Is Only One Thing I Can Do ]

[ Just Sit There & Suffer Through Another Flashback ]
[ It Will Be 19 Years ]
[ & The PTSD Still Attacks ]

[ Takes Over My Brain, My Body, My Whole Day ]
[ It Always Comes @ Me The Same Way ]

[ The Sound Of A Fire Extinguisher Hitting A Kid’s Head ]
[ Then Look Where That Led ]
[ I Was Never Sure Why They Attacked David ]
[ While He Was Just Sitting Helpless On His Bed ]

[ I Was Directed ( TO NOT ENGAGE @ ALL ) ]
[ When Mario Would Demand My Keys ]
[ All I Could Do Say Was ( I WOULD NEED TO MAKE A CALL ) ]

[ I Knew What They Would Say ]
[ ( THAT WOULD BE A NO, OKAY ) ]

[ Let Them Be Mad @ Security Instead Of Me ]
[ I Knew That I Could Never Hand Over My Keys ]

[ The Time Dragged After They Barricaded The Door With
     Desks & Mattresses ]
[ I Think That Increased My Stressors ]

[ When There Is A Flashback, There Will Be A Form Of PTSD ]
[ No One Else Can See ]
[ How Debilitating Flashbacks Can Be ]

[ It Literally Takes My Mind From Here ]
[ To Then ]
[ It Was Always Clear ]
[ About The Why & The When ]

[ Every Word ]
[ That Was Said Or Heard ]

[ That Makes For A Long Night ]

~ The End ~

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




[ It Is Always

(355)▪︎[ Who Was That? … 4•28•2021 ]

[ One Day The Lonely Man Came Back To Show
     His Deepest Scars ]
[ When He Pulled Up His Undershirt T-Top ]
[ They Looked As Big As Small Cars ]

[ Why Would The Lonely Man Lift Up His Shirt? ]
[ & Show His Hurt? ]

[ It Was NOT For The Itty Bitty ]
[ Pity ]
[ That He Could Get From A Stranger In The City ]

[ It Was So Others Could Learn ]
[ That It Doesn’t Take Spicy Food ]
[ To Cause Someone’s Heart To Burn ]

[ Wounds Are Not Always Made In The Physical Sense ]
[ Just Like Someone’s Dirty Look Can Make You Tense ]

[ A Stab Is Not Always Physical ]
[ Jokes Are Not Always Comical ]

[ If You Are Not Always Mindful ]
[ Jokes Can Quickly Turn Hurtful ]

[ You Can Not Joke About Gender, Race Or Being
     Black Or White ]
[ You Can’t Joke About Age Or Weight ]
[ But People Still Joke About Some One’s Height ]

[ Asks The Lonely Man ]
[ You Don’t Try To Go There, There Or There ]
[ But Others Have A Sense Of Entitlement & Think That
     They Can ]

[ Sometimes He Takes The Elder Woman’s Cart ]
[ Back Into Walmart ]

[ Not Because He Was Being Asked ]
[ By The Older Lady With The Smile On Her Mask ]

[ He Never Stands Out In The Crowd ]
[ That Is Not What The Lonely Man Is About ]

[ How Will His Wounds Heal? ]
[ How Do His Wounds Feel? ]

[ Everyone One Has Wounds Of Some Sort ]
[ Some People Have Been Successful In Building Their
     Own Imaginary Emotional Fort ]

[ ( THAT IS QUITE THE WALL THAT YOU’ve BUILT ) ]
[ Is It As High As Your Mountain Of Guilt? ]

[ How About The Many Pages Of Regrets? ]
[ The Lonely Man Has More, He Bets ]

[ Looking Within @ Your Own Feelings Stings ]
[ Self-Doubt & Insecurity Are The Kings ]

[ Nothing Around The Lonely Man Makes Him Feel
     That Bad ]
[ Or That Sad ]
[ Oh Here Is One ( HELLO, DAD! ) ]

[ Sometimes The Lonely Man Could Be Standing On
     The Corner Waiting For The Bus ]
[ Sometimes There Is A Little Bit Of The Lonely Man
     In Each One Of Us ]

[ ( a very quiet mike drops ) ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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


    

(402)▪︎[ It Sets In Slowly … 5•11•2021 ]

[ A Sense Of Isolation Is Starting To Set In ]
[ When Will This End? ]
[ When Did It Actually Begin? ]

[ Was It Yesterday Or Ten Years Ago? ] 
[ The Exact Date Was … ]
[ Well I Really Don’t Know ]

[ It Seems Like It Drifted In While I Slept ]
[ I Cannot Remember How Many Nights That I Wept ] 

[ Yes, Grown Men DO Cry ]
[ When I Read You A Really Sad Story ]
[ I Don’t Want To See A Dry Eye ]

[ This Isn’t About How Debilitating PTSD ]
[ Is For Me ]

[ No, Not This Rhyme ]
[ No, Not This Time ]

[ Maybe If I Was A Huge Loud Bird ]
[ My Words ]
[ Would Be Heard ]

[ Since I Am Not A Betting Man ]
[ I Don’t Think That I Can ]

[ Definitely Not In My Own ]
[ Home ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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


    

(566)▪︎[ Strikes A Nerve … 6•16•2020 ]

[ Sometimes Things, Words, Events Really Hit Close To Home ]
[ Where Or When Did This Start ]
[ That Is Not Known ]

[ When I Was Very Young, I Had A Bad Night ]
[ It Was Because My Dad Was Drunk ]
[ So He & His Girlfriend Decided To Argue & Fight ]

[ My Dad Made The Worst Decision He Had Ever Made ]
[ He Got His Gun ]
[ & It Was His Life That He Gave ]
[ It Was Not Fun ]
[ To See His Name On A Grave ]

[ But The Rest Of Us @ Home That Night Survived ]
[ But Was I Really Alive? ]

[ There Have Been Bumps & Turns ]
[ Suntans & Burns ]

[ Everybody Had Bad Events Growing Up ]
[ Every Kid Had Times When They Just Wanted To Keep
     Their Eyes Shut ]

[ But The Point Is To Get Back Up & Fight Again & Again ]
[ That Is The Only Way You Win ]

[ But My Friends, I Write My Thoughts & I Feel What I Write ]
[ Nobody Says What Is Wrong Or Right ]
[ I Just Want To Turn On The Light ]

[ To Begin Another Day ]
[ To Find A Way ]
[ To Write What I Want To Say ]

[ It’s Not Wrong ]
[ To Have Those Moments When You Don’t Feel Strong ]

[ Don’t Make Hasty Decisions, Without Thinking Ahead ]
[ If You Are Not Feeling Well ]
[ Lay Your Head Down On Your Bed ]

[ & Go To Sleep ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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