(303)▪︎[ We Miss You … 3•24•2020 ]

[ We’re Sending A Heartfelt Message To You, Mom & Dad ]
[ It’s Been So Many Days Since We’ve Seen You ]
[ & That Makes Us Sad ]

[ We Would Never Want To take That Dangerous Chance ]
[ Of Making You Sick ]
[ So That’s Why We’ve Taken This Stance ]

[ As They Say That Our Greatest Wealth ]
[ Is Our Good Health ]

[ When Will This Pandemic End, Nobody Knows ]
[ If We Go By What The Facts That The A.G. Shows ]
[ Nobody Knows Yet When & How This Virus Slows ]

[ Mom, You Said That You Wished That You Could Have
Given Me A Hug When You Read That Story About My Brother ]
[ You Have No Idea How Important It Has Been For Me To
Be Able To Look @ You Like A Mother ]

[ & Once They Have Control Of This Virus Bug ]
[ I Will Collect That Hug ]

[ Ever Since I Met Your Daughter I Knew She Would Be My Wife ]
[ & Throughout Our Marriage You Two Have Been Such Positive
Influences In My Life ]

[ I Look Back & Think It Was A Shame ]
[ That It Took Me So Long ]
[ To Ask You For The Honor To Carry On Your Last Name ]

[ It Has Been Awhile ]
[ Since You’ve Been Able To Welcome Us Into Your House ]
[ Always Having A Smile ]

[ Nobody Knows When ]
[ This Self-Quarentine Will End ]
[ My First Words Will Be ( HOW HAVE YOU TWO BEEN? ) ]

[ I Feel So Bad ]
[ For Others ]
[ Who Don’t Feel That Their In-Laws Love Them Like A Mom & Dad ]

[ You Two Have Never Needed To Persist ]
[ That Such Wonderful In-Laws ]
[ Like Your Family Exists ]

[ If I Could Store Love In A Bank ]
[ I’d Be Rich ]
[ I’d Have Your WHOLE Family To Thank ]

[ Your Family Has Truly Shown & Taught Me What Family Love Is ]
[ So I’ll End This ]
[ With A Virtual Hug ]

[ Love, Your Son-In-Law ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(536)▪︎[ Live Your Life … 7•2•2021 ]

[ It Is Okay, Today ]
[ To Not Be Okay ]

[ It Is Okay To Be A Little Lost ]
[ It Is Okay To Be A Dreamer ]
[ No Matter The Cost ]

[ There Are Days When You Feel A Little Off ]
[ It Is Okay To Take A Sick Day Even Though You Don’t
Have A Cough ]

[ Even Though You Are A Man ]
[ It Is Okay If You Search For The Sun Because You Want
To Get A Tan ]

[ Days Can Feel A Little Foggy ]
[ Because There Are Nights When You Don’t Sleep ]
[ Making Your Mornings A Little Groggy ]

[ It Is Okay To Be 58 & Still Wear Only Shorts ]
[ It Is An Achievement That Your Record Is Clean ]
[ Because You Have Been Able To Stay Out Of The Criminal
Courts ]

[ You Try To Find Humor, In The Hardest Situations ]
[ You Try To Help Others, When They Have Complications ]

[ You See That Laughter Is Always In Style ]
[ You Have Found That A Compliment To A Complete
Stranger, Makes Them Smile ]

[ Because They Are So Unexpected, Coming From A Stranger
Such As You ]
[ Until You Say The Last Word ]
[ They Have No Clue ]

[ It Is Okay That It Makes You Smile When That Is What You
Are Able To Do For Others ]
[ Maybe Doing That, Helps You Get Over The Pain That You Have
Because Of The Death Of Your Brother ]

[ You Have Found That Complimenting Someone Else ]
[ Helps Yourself ]

[ It Is Okay To Warm Your Own Heart ]
[ By Trying To Warm Another Person’s ]
[ Heart, An Art ]

[ Give ]
[ Don’t Take ]
[ Live ]
[ By Never Being Fake ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(250)▪︎[ Alot Of Don’ts … 3•10•2020 ]

[ Don’t Hate What You Do Not Understand ]
[ Don’t Expect A Thing When You Demand ]

[ Don’t Judge What You Do Not Know ]
[ Don’t Parent By Always Say ( BECAUSE I SAID SO ) ]

[ Don’t Say ( I LOVE YOU ) Just To Get Respect ]
[ Do Things That You Want Done So You Don’t Expect ]

[ Don’t Take What You Have Not Bought ]
[ Don’t Take For Granted All That You’ve Got ]

[ Don’t Look To Others ]
[ To Be A Surrogate Mother ]

[ Don’t Say You Live Alone ]
[ When You Have Someoout Waiting For You ]
[ When You Get Home ]

[ Don’t Say You’re Honest, When You’ve Lied Plenty ]
[ Don’t Say That You Tell The Truth, When Your Lies Have Been Many ]
[ Don’t Say You Are A Person Of God When All You Do Is Judge ]
[ Don’t Say That You Are A Forgiving Person, When All You Do Is Hold A Grudge ]

[ Don’t Hate, What You Can’t Have Today ]
[ Work Hard For Your Pay ]
[ Then Feel Good That You Found A Way ]
[ To Get It Some Day ]

[ Treat My Dog With The Same Respect As You Do Me ]
[ I Want Her To Be As Happy As Can Be ]

[ Don’t Say You Do Hard Labor When Your Hands Are Soft ]
[ Don’t Say You Have An Upstairs ]
[ When All That You Have Is A Loft ]

[ Don’t Say You’re A Peaceful Person, When All You Do Is Yell ]
[ & Through Your Actions, Put Others Through Hell ]

[ Don’t Turn On Cold Water Expecting It To Be Hot ]
[ Don’t Say ( I’ve HAD A HARD DAY ) When All You Have Done
Is Sit & Play X-Box ]

[ Don’t Say That You Can Build When All That You Do Is Tear Down ]
[ Don’t Say That You Love The Circus When You Are Always Afraid Of The Clowns ]

[ Don’t Say You’re Rich, When You Can’t Spare A Penny ]
[ Don’t Say You Have Alot, When You Can’t Show Any ]

[ Don’t Put Your Faith Into Something/Someone You Don’t Believe ]
[ Don’t Say ( BELIEVE ME ) & Then Deceive ]

[ Them ]

[ If You Want To Pay For Someone’s Time ]
[ Expect To Pay More Than A Nickel Or A Dime ]

[ If You Are Allowed To Read What Someone Wrote ]
[ Do Not Say That You Can Do Better & Gloat ]

[ Maybe Someone’s Written Word ]
[ Is Not The Best You’ve Ever Heard ]
[ But, You Found There Was A Nice Mixture Of Nouns & Verbs ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[ Mahalo iā ‘oe ]
[ A hui hono mom u mākou ]
[ Aloha ] ‎
‎
[ Na ]
[ Lopaka DeVoe ]

K MJ ol in no no mm MJ MJ mom nm mm monitor MJ I’m k

(246)▪︎[ The Spark … 3•9•2020 ]

[ When The Sun Goes Down & The Moon Comes Out ]
[ What Do You Think About? ]

[ Do You Reminisce About How The Day Went? ]
[ & How You Were Able To Call Your Partner & Vent? ]

[ Did They Listen With Open Ears? ]
[ Or Did It Seem Like You Were Talking About Subjects
That They Didn’t Want Hear? ]
[ Did It Seem Really Clear? ]
[ That They Didn’t Want To Listen Here? ]

[ Were The Problems Solved? ]
[ Was Your Partner Involved? ]

[ If So, How Much? ]
[ Did They Always Try To Avoid Talking About Such & Such? ]

[ How True Were These Last Lines? ]
[ Do You Think Your Relationship Is Still Doing Fine? ]

[ Sometimes They Come Across Aloof & Vacant ]
[ You Want Them To Stay 10 More Minutes ]
[ But They Quickly Say ( I CAN’t ) ]

[ You Wonder Where It All Went Wrong? ]
[ Your Talks Used To Be Deep & Long ]

[ Now You Don’t Know What’s Going On ]
[ Are You Thinking That The Spark Is Gone? ]

[ Did It Blow Out Long Ago? ]
[ Or Didn’t You See It ]
[ Because The Regression Was So Slow? ]

[ So How Do You Make A Spark That Starts A Flame? ]
[ First Thing You Do Is Stop The Blame ]
[ Game ]

[ That Does Not Help Each Other ]
[ To Stay Together ]
[ It Doesn’t Help Trying To Be Their Father Or Mother ]

[ You Must Let Them Be Themselves ]
[ & Don’t Try To Make Them Like Someone Else ]

[ Like Someone From Your Past ]
[ Since You Are Not Still With That Person ]
[ Obviously That Relationship Did Not Last ]

[ But Everyone Has Advice That You Don’t Have To Take ]
[ & Sometimes Some People Come Across Aloof & Fake ]

[ Can You Do Anything About That? ]
[ Maybe The Next Time That You Come Up To Bat ]
[ You Can Wipe Your Shoes Off @ The Doormat ]
[ That’s Better Than Wiping Them Off On Somebody’s Back ]

[ You Have To Stop The Hurt ]
[ & Give Him Back His Shirt ]
[ But You Could Wash It First ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(312)▪︎[ We Have To Wait … 3•27•2020 ]

[ What Does The Word Freedom Mean To You In Your World ]
[ With This Isolating Does It Feel Twirled? ]

[ Off Of It’s Axis ]
[ What’s Next For Us? ]

[ No, You Can’t Go Out There ]
[ Where? ]
[ Anywhere! ]

[ How Do You Feel Love ]
[ Through A Latex Glove? ]

[ Can’t You See ]
[ This Is How Things Must Be ]
[ Do You Have It? ]
[ Does She? ]

[ The Thing About This Virus Is That You Don’t Know
Until It’s Too Late ]
[ Then You Find Out That Where You Ate ]
[ Infected Your Mate ]

[ Or Did You ]
[ Put Together The Two Plus Two ]

[ Who Were They Always Around? ]
[ Do You Not Like The Answer You Found? ]

[ That Is Why We Must Wait ]
[ & Self-Isolate ]

[ Being In The House Is Making You Feel Lazy ]
[ Your Memory Has Become Hazy ]

[ How Do You Stay Sharp? ]
[ When The Boredom Is Tearing You Apart? ]

[ Do You Really Need To Go To The Store? ]
[ Do You Need To Run That Errand? ]
[ Just One, Maybe More? ]

[ Things Are So Dire ]
[ You Don’t Stand Up In A Theatre & Yell ( FIRE ) ]

[ You Could Make So Many People Sick ]
[ Because Of The Panick ]

[ No One Wants To Quarantine A Day Longer Than Need Be ]
[ It Will Be Great ]
[ When We Can Go Back To Being The Land Of The Free ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(273)▪︎[ Some Words … 3•17•2020 ]

[ The World Has Now Turned Upside Down With A Snap ]
[ If You Have Not Heard Of This Virus ]
[ You Must Have Been Taking A Nap ]

[ Now People Are Being Quarantined From Each Other ]
[ But They Say That We Must Remain Separate But Together ]

[ What Exactly Does That Mean? ]
[ Are We Just Supposed To Be Heard? ]
[ Not Seen? ]

[ The Virus Is Everywhere ]
[ Yes It’s There, There & There ]

[ The Main Thing Is That We Can’t Be In A Group
Or A Bunch ]
[ No More Meeting For Breakfast Or Lunch ]

[ One Thing We Will Miss So Much ]
[ That Is Seeing & Loving Each Other Through Touch ]

[ When Will This End, Nobody Can Predict ]
[ The Virus Doesn’t Care Who Gets Picked ]

[ & To Think That This All Started Because Of A Bat ]
[ Now It Affects All Of This ]
[ & All Of That ]

[ The Poor Workers That Got Sent Home Or Got Laid Off ]
[ Some Have To Dip Into Their Sick Leave ]
[ Without Sneezing Or Having A Cough ]

[ My Wife Works @ A Job Where She Can’t Do It From Home ]
[ Some Of Her Fellow Employees Have Traveled ]
[ To Some Places Unknown ]

[ We Were Supposed To Travel, Too ]
[ But Then We Canceled Everything Because Of What We Knew ]

[ We Definitely Understand & Don’t Oppose ]
[ That Where We Were Going ]
[ Everything Was Closed ]

[ So When You All Are @ Home Don’t Be Down Or Get Lazy ]
[ Call Someone That Makes You Laugh ]
[ So You Don’t Go Stir Crazy ]

[ I Know What I’ll Do With These Longer Days Of Light ]
[ I’ll Keep My Phone On ]
[ & Use The Thoughts That I Have That Compel Me To Write ]

[ Some Thoughts Come Quick, But Others Are Slow ]
[ What Tomorrow Brings ]
[ Nobody Knows ]

[ The Lead Doctors & Scientists Do Not Even Know What Comes
Next ]
[ We’re Dealing With A Virus So We Don’t Know What To Expect ]

[ So,We, I Mean Us, Who Want To Live To Grow Old ]
[ Trust The Smart People ]
[ & Do As We’re Told ]

[ I Love Writing Story After Story ]
[ Not For The Praise ]
[ Or The Glory ]

[ With All The Thoughts That Don’t End ]
[ It’s Warm Thoughts That I Send ]
[ To My Loved Ones & Friends ]

[ Everyone Stay Safe ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(277)▪︎[ The Chase … 3•18•2020 ]

[ In Life, Are You Chasing Your Dreams? ]
[ Or Listening To The Screams ]

[ Of Doubt? ]
[ What Is That About? ]

[ Dreams That We Can’t Help That We Keep Reaching For? ]
[ Is There A Magical Door ]
[ That Leads You To The Ground Floor? ]

[ When You Reach It, Then What? ]
[ Does The Dream Machine Close Down & Shut? ]

[ What About The Next One ]
[ & The One After That? ]
[ Are Things Not Fun ]
[ When You Throw It Down To The Mat? ]

[ Who Objects ]
[ If You Raised Your Hand ]
[ & Asked ( SO, WHAT’s NEXT? ) ]

[ Do You Have The Guts To Keep Going On? ]
[ Is The Drive Gone? ]

[ What Could Go Wrong? ]
[ If You Remain Strong? ]

[ Nothing ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(275)▪︎[ Just Another Day In Paradise … 3•18•2020 ]

[ Would It Be Considered Controversial? ]
[ To Think That Society ]
[ Has To Go Through It’s Day Being So Impersonal? ]

[ Can We Touch Without Being Touched? ]
[ Can A Boxer Win ]
[ Without Getting Punched? ]

[ Sometimes Questions Come Up That Has No Answer ]
[ There Are Unexplained ]
[ Causes For Cancer ]

[ But We Search For The Unexplainable ]
[ The Impossible ]

[ We Want To Make Sense Of It All ]
[ When You’re Perplexed ]
[ Who Do You Want To Call? ]

[ Mom Or Dad? ]
[ Tom Or Chad? ]

[ What If None Of Them Are Around? ]
[ Both Of My Dad & Mom ]
[ Are In The Ground ]

[ Now You Can’t Walk Outside To Go Downtown ]
[ There’s Barely Another Person ]
[ To Be Found ]

[ Look Up Center Street ]
[ Or Go Down State A Few Feet ]

[ The World As We Knew It Six Months Ago ]
[ Is Gone ]
[ Is This A Slow ]
[ Con? ]

[ Brought About Because Of A Master Conspiracy? ]
[ What’s Your Theory? ]

[ Is This The Armageddon? The Apocalypse? ]
[ Or Nature’s Form Of A Time-Out? ]
[ Is This Ever Going To Make Sense? ]
[ This, Is One Of Those Things That I Doubt ]

[ Are You The Type ]
[ To Believe The Hype? ]

[ Or Do You Only Act? ]
[ On The Facts? ]

[ Whatever The Choice ]
[ Don’t Use Your Voice ]
[ Just To Cause Noise ]

[ But Hey, I’ve Never Pretended To Teach ]
[ Or Preach ]

[ But My Life Is Mine ]
[ & Your Life Is Yours ]
[ I Think We Will All Do Fine ]
[ Behind Our Own Doors ]
[ & If Our Lives Intertwine ]
[ By Sharing The Same Floor ]

[ We All Have Our Role To Play ]
[ So Let’s Find A Way ]
[ To @ Least Have A Pleasant Day ]
[ Okay? ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(274)▪︎[ I Miss My Brother … 3•18•2020 ]

[ I Have A Younger Brother, Brent ]
[ A Month Ago ]
[ Heaven Is Where He Went ]

[ He Passed Peacefully, As He Slept ]
[ Many Times Since That Night, I’ve Wept ]

[ Sleep For Me, Is Far Overrated ]
[ Staying Awake Through The Whole Night, Is What I’ve Hated ]

[ Brent Was Not Just A Relative ]
[ He Was Also The Friend ]
[ Who Was Never Negative ]

[ Positivity Is What He Brought Out In Me ]
[ He’ll Always Be That Way In My Mind, To See ]

[ Humor Was One Thing We Had In Common, Too ]
[ When His Name Would Come Across My Caller I.D. ]
[ I’d Automatically Think ( HOW CAN I CLOWN ON YOU? ) ]

[ We’d Make Funny Cut-Downs That We Never Meant ]
[ Time Together Was One Thing In Our Life ]
[ That Was Hardly Spent ]

[ Brent & I Were Separated During Our Toddler Years ]
[ I’m Sure When We Said Our Goodbyes ]
[ There Were Many Nights Of Tears ]

[ So I Grew-Up Knowing I Had A Brother Out There ]
[ But I Never Knew Where ]

[ I Grew Up Not Even Knowing His Name ]
[ Our Birth Mother Is Who I Blamed! ]

[ Over & Over & Over Because She Was The Reason For The Family
Split ]
[ One Day She Was A Mother Of Three ]
[ Then She Decided, She Didn’t Want Any Part Of It ]
[ Just, So She Could Be Free ]

[ She Gave Up, ALL Of Her Parental Rights ]
[ We Were Too Young To Put Up A Fight ]

[ So Then Fast Forward, In My Life ]
[ My Brother, Was Found By My Wife ]

[ He Was In North Carolina & I Was In Oregon ]
[ I Wondered About How We Could Meet Up Again ]

[ My Wonderful, Generous In-Laws Paid For Our Trip There ]
[ A Hotel Room, A Rental Car, Spending Money & Air Fare ]

[ I’ll Never Be Able To Pay Back Their Generosity ]
[ It Would Take More Than Money ]

[ Much More ]
[ That Showed The Love From All Four ]

[ Of Them ]

[ Brent & I Reconnected Really Fast ]
[ But We Felt We Were Always Connected In Our Past ]
[ We Started A Bond That Would Forever Last ]

[ So We Let Each Other Get Known ]
[ During Our Hours On The Phone ]
[ & Now … God Called Him Home ]

[ There’s Not Going To Be Anymore Phone Calls & Hours
Long Laughs ]
[ His Passing Has Cut My Heart In Half ]

[ There Are Voice Mail Messages On My Phone That I Can’t
Bring Myself To Erase ]
[ I Miss His Voice ]
[ Not His Face ]

[ We Had Plans To Grow Old Together ]
[ Oh How I Miss My Brother ]

[ His Voice Will Always Be In My Ear ]
[ What I Wouldn’t Do ]
[ To Have Him Here ]

[ I Miss Him, I Always Will ]
[ If Only There Was A Magical Pill ]

[ Could It Be Certain ]
[ To Stop My Hurtin’? ]

[ Probably Not ]
[ But I Thank God ]
[ For The Family I’ve Still Got ]
[ Because A Daily Hug From My Beautiful Wife ]
[ Sure Does Hit The Spot ]

[ I Miss You Brent ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(268)▪︎[ Happy 24th … 3•16•2020 ]

[ Happy Anniversary, Number 24 ]
[ One Thing About Our Anniversaries ]
[ Is That I Always Want More ]

[ Sometimes Our Days & Years Go Up & Down ]
[ I Always Feel Better ]
[ Knowing That You Want Me To Stick Around ]

[ You Are ]
[ The Brightest Star ]

[ That I Could Ever See In The Night Sky ]
[ Making Me The Luckiest Guy ]
[ Because It Was Me That Caught Your Eye ]

[ 24 Years Ago You Said ( I DO ) ]
[ When I Was Asked, I Said That I Do, Too ]

[ Then We Took A Nice Ride In Our Limousine ]
[ We Rode Our Charriot Back To Mom & Dad’s ]
[ For Some Nighttime Cuisine ]

[ If I Was Asked If I’d Do All Of This Again ]
[ I’d Ask Back ]
[ When Do We Begin? ]

[ When I Asked You If I Could Be The Guy That You Would Want
To Marry ]
[ That Was The Most Important Question That I’ve Ever Asked ]
[ I Can See ]
[ That You’ve Proven Up To The Task ]

[ Through All Of These Years You Never Gave Up On Me ]
[ If Someone Offered Me Money To Keep Going ]
[ I’d Say ( NO THANK YOU, I’ll DO THIS FOR FREE ) ]

[ & You Never Gave Up On Us ]
[ You Have Had Many Opportunities ]
[ To Catch The Next Greyhound Bus ]

[ Whoever Said ( YOU COMPLETE ME ) Could Not Have Said
More Appropriate Words ]
[ I Thought Of You ]
[ When That Was A Statement I Heard ]

[ Being Single Is A Computer World, That I Want None Of ]
[ I Believe In The Old Fashioned Way ]
[ Of Finding True Love ]

[ I Would Never Pass As A Computer Nerd ]
[ I Think Being Single ]
[ Is For The Birds ]

[ I’d Be Lost & I Would Experience The Spins ]
[ It Would Have Me Sleeping ]
[ On Needles & Pins ]

[ Well We Have @ Least 26 More Years To Go ]
[ Where Did You Think We’d Be 24 Years Ago ]

[ Are You Where You Want To Be? ]
[ Is There A Bright Future For Us That You Can See? ]

[ Being Married To You Is All That I’ve Wanted All Along ]
[ The Way ]
[ Being By Your Side ]
[ Is Where I Know I Belong ]
[ Day After Day ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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