(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 ]

[° 245)▪︎[ Can You See Them … 3•9•2020 ]

[ Can You See My Scars? ]
[ Inside My Head, They Are As Big As Cars ]

[ The Ones That Cannot Be Seen ]
[ Are From People Who Were Nasty & Mean ]

[ Those Kinds Of People Attack ]
[ From Behind ]
[ & Stab You In The Back ]
[ & They Don’t Do It By The Light Of Day ]
[ They Do It @ Night When It’s Black ]
[ Outside ]

[ The Scars Can Be As Small As A Paper Cut ]
[ But It Causes A Gap ]
[ That Is Hard To Keep Shut ]

[ The Unseen Scars Are The Deepest & Hurt The Most ]
[ Sometimes They Feel Like They’ve Been Stabbed By A Post ]

[ Then You’ll Never Get Back The Trust That Was Lost ]
[ You’ll Never Come To A Final Cost ]

[ But As You Are Attempting To Recoup Your Loss ]
[ Your Pain Will Always ]
[ Let You Know, Who’s The Boss ]

[ But When The Pain Is Below The Surface ]
[ You Can Never Figure Out How, Or Why ]
[ & What Is The Purpose ]

[ The Purpose Is To Cause More Pain ]
[ Scars Want To Remind You Again & Again ]

[ That It’s Not Going To Be Very Kind ]
[ To Keep Pain On Your Mind ]
[ @ Least That Is What You Find ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(237)▪︎[ Who Is Left? … 3•7•2020 ]

[ Can You Live Your Life With Your Own Failures? ]
[ Would It Be Easy Being On A Ship Living With A Group Of
Sailors? ]

[ What If Half Of The Problems That You’ve Had While You’ve
Been Alive ]
[ Was Wiped Away? ]
[ Would You Then Thrive? ]

[ Or Would You Continue To Dog Paddle In The Deep-End Of
The Lake? ]
[ You Just Do Not Know What It Would Take ]

[ To Reach The Side & Climb Out ]
[ Surviving Is Your Greatest Doubt ]

[ If There Are Always Those That Have To Remember What Was ]
[ There Will Be Those That Will Never Reach For What Can Be ]
[ Because ]
[ They Don’t Want To See ]
[ What Faith Does ]

[ They Will Resist ]
[ As The Faithful Persist ]

[ Who Will Win? ]
[ & ]
[ Who Will Lose ]
[ When It’s Your Choice ]
[ Who Will Begin ]
[ To Choose? ]
[ By Using Their Voice? ]
[ While Not Turning To Booze ]

[ Living Is The Hardest Part Of Life ]
[ Having The Energy To Keeping The Light ]
[ On Strong ]
[ Throughout The Night ]

[ Keeping Safe, The Ones That You Love ]
[ Handling Them Gently ]
[ Like You Would A Dove ]

[ Then Not Putting Up A Fight ]
[ & Letting Them Know What Is Best ]
[ When They Want To Take Flight ]
[ From The Family Nest ]
[ Then You’ll Know To Keep In Sight ]
[ The Love You Have For The Rest ]

[ That Are Left ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(217)▪︎[ Why Don’t You Know? … 3•4•2020 ]

[ I Cry & You Don’t Know When I’m Hurt ]
[ Then My Tears Fall On My Shirt ]

[ What Do You Do? ]
[ All I Get Is A Cold Feeling ]
[ & A Blank Look From You ]

[ Where’s The Love? ]
[ What Are You Thinking Of? ]

[ When You See Me Standing There Looking Like A Mess ]
[ I Have To Confess ]
[ I Feel Totally Undressed ]
[ & That Makes Me Stressed ]

[ Why Do You Not Know How To Comfort Me ]
[ It’s Just Like The Day I Scraped My Knee ]

[ Where Were You? ]
[ I Had No Clue ]

[ Whatsoever ]
[ I Thought You Would Never ]

[ Turn Your Back ]
[ What’s Up With That? ]

[ I Remember Things Like This ]
[ To Me It’s A Total Diss ]
[ When I’m Away From You This Is One Feeling That I Do Not Miss ]

[ Where’s The Respect? ]
[ I Know, I Know, What Should I Expect ]

[ I Expect More ]
[ I Didn’t Expect You To Take My Emotions ]
[ & Sweep The Floor ]

[ Would You Then Take My Heart & Wipe The Windows? ]
[ Who Would Know? ]
[ What Would That Show? ]

[ That Would Show That You Will Always Be The Dominant
One ]
[ Are We THAT Done? ]

[ & That Makes Me Sad ]
[ Dad ]

[ So, Let Me Make This So Crystal Clear ]
[ I Am So Glad That You Are Not Up Here ]

[ & I So Much Care ]
[ That You Wound Up Down There ]
[ So, Here’s To Burnt Hair! ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(213)▪︎[ Don’t Turn Back … 3•4•2020 ]

[ Go Away Little Girls ]
[ With Your Head Full Of Curls ]

[ Stop Being The Kind ]
[ That Tries To Mess With All Of The Mens Minds ]

[ They Are Not Going To Get Very Far ]
[ With Their Head Up In The Stars ]
[ Driving Their Fast Car ]
[ While Stopping In @ All Of The Young Crowd Bars ]

[ Looking In The Dark For Mr. Wright ]
[ But They Find That He’s Nowhere In Sight ]
[ Then Someone Makes The Room All Bright ]
[ By Turning On The Light ]

[ That Just Shines A Light On The Bad ]
[ & What Makes Them So Mad ]
[ Is That The Couples Look Oh So Sad ]

[ Do The Women See No Reason To Take Flight ]
[ Because All They Do Is Fight ]
[ With Who They Thought Was The Guy That’s Right ]

[ They Have No Clue ]
[ About What They Should Do ]

[ They Look For Any Recent Text ]
[ About What To Do Next ]

[ Who Will Take Or See Their Side ]
[ On Everything ]
[ When They Hide ]
[ The Gold Wedding Rings ]
[ When Others Hear That They Lied ]
[ About These Things ]

[ They May Turn Their Backs & Walk ]
[ & Let It Be Known ]
[ That They Will Never Again Be Asked To Sit Down & Talk ]

[ About The Circumstances ]
[ That Had Them Taking Chances ]
[ Going To Those Wild, Loud Dances ]

[ That They Normally Would Not Have Thought Of ]
[ If They Weren’t In The Wrong Places ]
[ Looking For Love ]
[ In A Group Of Strange Faces ]

[ What Were They Exploring? ]
[ Leaving Friends Worrying ]

[ Back Home ]
[ Where They Are Known ]
[ But If They Would Only Pick Up The Phone ]

[ They Would Stop In Their Tracks ]
[ & Come Back ]

[ Where They Started ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(208)▪︎[ Whispers … 3•3•2020 ]

[ In The Dead Of Night I Hear Your Voice In My Ear ]
[ I Hear You Just Like If You Were Here ]
[ It’s Not Warbled ]
[ It Sounds Perfectly Clear ]

[ You Simply Ask ( WHAT’s GOING ON? ) Simple & Plain ]
[ I Want To Shut Out The Noise & Make Yours The Main ]

[ Sound ]
[ Around ]

[ I Told My Care Giver, ( I SO MISS YOUR CALLS ]
[ The Silence Drives Me Up My Four Walls ]

[ I Can’t Say I Miss You Physically Because We Only Saw
Each Other For That One Week 22 Years Ago ]
[ I Miss What I Know ]

[ & That Was Your Voice ]
[ Because It Wasn’t Just Noise! ]

[ It Was The Lifeline Between The Two Of Us ]
[ That’s How Things Was ]

[ Now I Can’t Stop Writing About You ]
[ I Miss You So Much, Times Two ]

[ I Miss You! ]
[ I Miss You! ]

[ Where Did The Time Go, How Was It Spent? ]
[ I Truly Miss You, Brother Brent ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(338)▪︎[ Good Times … 4•4•2020 ]

[ Life Is So Short, Make It Sweet ]
[ When Things Are Good ]
[ It Can’t Be Beat ]

[ So Let’s Put This In Drive ]
[ Instead Of Keeping It In Park ]
[ To See If This Is Worth Bringing It Into The Light ]
[ Out Of The Dark ]

[ What Needs To Be Done ]
[ To Make This All Work? ]
[ Let’s Make Life Fun ]
[ So Nobody Gets Hurt ]

[ I’ll See Things Your Way ]
[ If You Could Also Consider Mine ]
[ Let’s Make Every Day ]
[ Fulfilling & Kind ]

[ I Remember Sitting On Your Sofa Laughing & Talking
Into The Wee Hours ]
[ The Sun Would Come Up ]
[ & We Would Listen To The Rain & Watch The Showers ]

[ That Doesn’t Seem To End ]
[ We Know We Need To Get Up & Start The Day ]
[ But We Just Don’t Want To Know When ]

[ I Just Decide To Get Up To Leave ]
[ But You Catch Me @ The Door ]
[ Then Say ( DON’t GO, PLEASE ) ]

[ I Go Back To Sit On The Couch, Next To You ]
[ I Peer Into Your Eyes ]
[ & Look For A Clue ]

[ I Can’t Help But Say ( WOW! ) ]
[ & That Makes You Blush & Smile ]
[ Then You Ask ( OKAY, WHAT NOW? ) ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(352)[ Not Good Company … 4•8•2020 ]

[ You Don’t Really Think That You Can Be Around Anyone Right Now ]
[ What You Want To Say ]
[ Probably Would Not Be Allowed ]

[ That Kind Of Counseling Sure Does Bring Up Alot Of Hurt ]
[ While Sitting There ]
[ You Were Sweating Through Your Two Shirts ]

[ Why Should He Respect You When She Shows That She Doesn’t ]
[ Through All These Years Where She Didn’t ]
[ He Sure Wasn’t ]

[ He Has Been Given So Many Opportunities To Say That He Does ]
[ Was He Ever Planning To? ]
[ Because He Acts Like He Never Was ]

[ She Has Been Given Every Opportunity To Believe
What She Can See ]
[ She Hasn’t In The Past ]
[ Because She Questions Your Honesty ]

[ & Questions You, Even Though You’ve Never
Given Her Any Cause ]
[ If You Had Anything To Say Then ]
[ You Are Now @ A Loss ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(353)▪︎[ Wow … What? … 4•8•2020 ]

[ I Felt Like I Just Had A Near Death Experience ]
[ When It Came To Almost Having A Heart Attack Or Not ]
[ I Couldn’t Tell The Difference ]
[ When Put On The Spot ]

[ Could That Have Been ]
[ The End? ]

[ I Really Found That I Wasn’t Ready Yet ]
[ So I Lost A Bet ]
[ With Myself ]
[ Because My Feet Were Not Set ]

[ Neither Was My Heart ]
[ I Didn’t Want It To Explode ]
[ Apart ]

[ Did We Ward It Off @ The Pass? ]
[ Because Panic ]
[ Was Kicking My Ass ]

[ I Got The Scare Of My Life ]
[ I Was Saved By My Wife ]

[ She Really Kept A Calm Head ]
[ & Gave Me A Calming Med ]

[ Her 911 Training Really Paid Off ]
[ Her Thoughts Never Got Lost ]

[ I Think I Found Out Something Tonight ]
[ & That Is … ]
[ I’m Not Ready To Extinguish The Pilot Light ]

[ Was This A Wake-Up Call For Me? ]
[ Could This Really Be? ]
[ We Shall See ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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