(764)▪︎[ A Man On Your Mind … 9•10•2021 ]

[ A Man That You Never Met, Had To Die, To Wake You Up? ]
[ An Illegal Act, Happened To Interrupt ]

[ Your Life ]
[ & Shine A Light ]

[ On The Message That Drugs Do Kill ]
[ When You Read The Article ]
[ It Told You That It Does It @ Will ]

[ It Will Do That ]
[ It Will Do This ]
[ Reading That Article, Made You Feel That You Could Have
     Been Hit By A Baseball Bat ]

[ Could Have, But Wasn’t ]
[ Drugs Kill Sometimes ]
[ But Sometimes, Doesn’t ]

[ You Played Russian Roulette ]
[ It Was A Half Loaded Gun ]
[ & Yet ]

[ You Walked Away Undaunted ]
[ Not Yet Hooked ]
[ The Drug Was Not Yet Craved Or Seriously Wanted ]

[ That Finely Tuned Athlete Should Have Stopped ]
[ Then He Tried The Drug ]
[ & He Just Dropped ]

[ You Tried It (4) Or (5) Times ]
[ It Made You Feel Euphoric ]
[ After Snorting Those Lines ]

[ Why Did His Friend Expose Him To The Drug? ]
[ He Was Supposedly A Friend ]
[ He Didn’t Force Him, Like A Thug ]

[ Being Drafted (#2) In The Draft By Boston ]
[ His Agent Would Have Asked For A Ton ]
[ Earning A Good Living Playing A Game That He Grew Up
     Playing For Fun ]

[ Now There Will Not Be Anymore Dribbling A Ball Or
     Shooting Jump Shots ]
[ Now His Name Is Just An Aterthought ]

[ Now His Name Is Followed By A (COULD HAVE … )
[ Or (SHOULD HAVE … ) ]
[ & (WOULD HAVE … ) ]

[ His Death Really Had An Affect On Your Future ]
[ It Showed That You Have Also Been That Immature ]

[ You Have Never Done ANY Drugs Since That Article ]
[ Not Smoked Or Even Snorted One Little Particle ]

[ You Keep That Specific Sports Illustrated Magazine On
     Your Bookcase ]
[ You Keep That Message Right In Front Of Your Face ]

[ Drugs Are Bad ]
[ Death Is Sad ]

[ Staying Alive … Makes Everyone Happy ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

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(765)▪︎[ A Cowboy’s Game? Really? … 9•10•2021 ]

[ Today, You Did An Amazing Thing, When Watching A Football
     Game ]
[ You Actually Rooted For A Team, With A Different Name ]

[ Because, You See ]
[ The Cowboys Have Always Been Your Steelers Arch Enemy ]

[ Yes, THOSE ‘Boys ]
[ Yes, This Was Football ]
[ No, Not Toys ]

[ It Is Solely Because Of This Woman, Whom You Call, Your Best
     Friend ]
[ Tonight You Proved To Her ]
[ That You Would Do Anything For Her, Until The Very End ]

[ She Is A Die Hard Dallas Cowboy’s Fan ]
[ & You Are A Pittsburgh Steelers Man ]

[ They Have Battled It Out (3) Times In The Super Bowl ]
[ Beating The Cowboys Was Always The Goal ]

[ But Today You Had To Swim Against Your Stream ]
[ You Pinched Yourself (2) Times To Make Sure This Was Not
     A Backwards Dream ]

[ You Actually Rooted For Them To Win ]
[ All Because Of Your Best Friend ]

[ Don’t Ever Call You A Liar ]
[ When You Say That If You Were Asked ]
[ For Her, You Would Walk Through A Blazing Fire ]

[ You See, This Lady Completely Altered Your Life ]
[ She Told You How To Be Better Father ]
[ & She Helped You, Be A Better Husband To Your Wife ]

[ But Root For The Cowboys To Win, Was A Doozy ]
[ Wish ]
[ When You Rooted For Them To Score, That Made You Quite
     Woozy ]

[ You Actually Got Tongue Tide ]
[ When The Game Started & You Told Yourself What You
     Needed To Do ]
[ You Knew It Was Going To Be A Bumpy Ride ]

[ But It Did Make Sense ]
[ When It Came To Rooting For Tom Brady’s Team ]
[ You Were Never On His Side Of The Fence ]

[ When You Now See That Cowboys Star You Ask ]
[ (I HAVE TO ROOT FOR THAT?) ]
[ Oh Yes, You Were Told ]
[ & You Have To Root For A Quarterback ]
[ Named (DAK) ]

[ You Tell Yourself That This Won’t Be All That Bad ]
[ Their Roster Does Not Make You Feel Sad ]

[ But You Would Walk (10) Miles ]
[ To See One Of Cavarona’s Smiles ]

[ The Love You Have For Your Best Friend Runs Deep ]
[ You Hope That After A Day Rooting For Her ‘Boys ]
[ Doesn’t Keep You From Getting A Good Night’s Sleep ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

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(766)▪︎[ Stop To Smell The … ? … 9•10•2021 ]

[ Are You That (1) Sheep That Always Gets Lost? ]
[ @ The Highest Cost? ]

[ Are You The One That Is Always So Sick ]
[ & Plays Russian Roulette ]
[ With A Semiautomatic? ]

[ Instead Of Involving ]
[ A Gun That Keeps Revolving? ]

[ What Is It About That Game ]
[ That Is Never The Same? ]
[ Who Wins? ]
[ Then, Who Is To Blame? ]

[ The Lost Sheep Does Not Follow ]
[ A Single Soul ]
[ He Is Not Defined, By Any Social Role ]
[ Or Was Counted, In Any Census Poll ]

[ The Lost Sheep Keeps Meeting People Who Are So Shallow ]
[ He Feels The Words That He Hears, Sound Hollow ]

[ Nobody Has Any Depth To Their Words ]
[ Especially After Everything That Has Occurred ]

[ There Seems To Be So Many Clowns Walking The Street ]
[ So Many Wrong People That He Has To Meet ]

[ In His Lifetime ]
[ Before He Can Meet The Lemon ]
[ That Goes With His Lime ]
[ He Wants To Meet, Someone ]
[ Who Makes The Nights, Sublime ]

[ Not Any Of These (YES PEOPLE) That He Sees On The
     Sidewalks ]
[ Who Wants To Have These Monotonous Talks ]

[ They Want To Have (BRUNCH) ]
[ Instead Of Having An Ordinary Lunch ]

[ Whatever Is In Style ]
[ … For Awhile ]

[ The Lost Sheep Has No Shelter ]
[ He Gets Tired Of Reading About Manson’s Dream Of Helter
     Skelter ]

[ He Was Whackier Than The Lost Sheep Was Lonely ]
[ If Only ]

[ Someone Was Always On The Other End Of The Phone ]
[ When He Only Hears The Dial Tone ]
[ It Makes Him Feel More Alone ]

[ He Could Run Back & Join The Flock ]
[ & Then Aimlessly Walk ]

[ From Field To Field ]
[ Not Even Trying To Yield ]

[ To Stop & Smell The Flowers ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

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(723)▪︎[ It’s All In Your Head … 8•29•2021 ]

[ Pain Really Is The Guy That Rules The Roost ]
[ Everytime That He Shows Up For The Party ]
[ You Need An Adrenaline Boost ]

[ Pain Bulldizes Right Over Happiness Or Feeling Glad ]
[ When He Leaves ]
[ Everything Is Sad ]

[ Travel Travels Or Shows Up Carrying A Full Suitcase ]
[ It Will Camp Out ]
[ In Your Toes, Or In Your Face ]

[ It Packs A Wall-Up Or It Can Be A Little Nagging Bitch ]
[ It Can Even Come In The Form Of An Itch ]

[ Sometimes Pain Can Put You On Your Seat ]
[ It Can Hit Your Back So Fast & Hard ]
[ It Can Knock You Off Your Feet ]

[ When It Comes On Really Fast ]
[ The Feeling Can Last & Last ]

[ It Can Give You A Bloody Nose ]
[ It Can Be In Your Feet & Your Toes ]

[ Oftentimes There Will Be, No Blood In Site ]
[ That Does Not Mean That It Is Not There To Fight ]

[ Pain Can Make You Feel Beat ]
[ It Can Even Affect When, Or What, You Want To Eat ]

[ It Does Not Matter Your Weight Or Height ]
[ Pain Can Also Ruin Your Night ]

[ In The Large Ring ]
[ Of Feelings ]
[ Pain Has Always Been King ]

[ Deep, Throbbing Or Sharp ]
[ Pain Is Not So Quiet That You Could Hear A Harp ]

[ Pain Can Travel From Your Back Clear Down Your Leg ]
[ To Get It To Stop Where It Starts ]
[ You Can’t Even Beg ]
[ So It Won’t Affect Any Other Parts ]

[ Pain Always Goes Wherever It Wants ]
[ Scars Are Not What Pain Flaunts ]

[ But Sometimes Scars, Is What Pain Sometimes Leaves ]
[ Some Cannot Be Covered With Pants ]
[ Or A Shirt That Has Long Sleeves ]

[ Scars Can Be Left On The Head Or Face ]
[ Pain Can Go All Over The Place ]

[ Some Pain Is In Your Head ]
[ Some Diagnosis’s Have Been Totally Misread ]

[ But Then Something That One Of Your Doctors Said
     That Made You Take Everything You Think Of Pain ]
[ But He Also Explained ]

[ (ALL PAIN IS IN YOUR HEAD) ]
[ He Said ]

[ There Is A Part Of Your Brain That Registers Pain Some
     Where On Your Body ]
[ & This Goes For Everybody ]

[ There Are Dr’s. That Make You Feel That It Is (ALL IN YOUR
     HEAD) Meaning They Cannot Find Anything Wrong ]
[ & His Office Or The Hospital Is (NOT) Where You Belong ]

[ Basically Saying (YOU’re FAKING IT) Right Then ]
[ He Wasn’t There When … ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

||•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•||

(722)▪︎[ Thanks To A Man That You Never Knew … 8•28•2021 ]

[ Back In June Of ’86, A Basketball Player Named Len Bias Was A
     Man That You Never Knew ]
[ You Read That He Was A Phenomenal College Basketball Player ]
[ Who Got Picked By The Boston Celtics When They Had Pick (#2) ]

[ In That Years NBA Draft ] 
[ When The Commissioner Announced His Name ]
[ Nobody Laughed ]

[ So Then ]
[ Len ]
[ Went To A Party That Night With Some Friends ]

[ He Made A Fatal Mistake With One Single Choice ]
[ Nobody Talked To Him In A Reasonable Voice ]

[ The Kind ]
[ That Would Have Tried To Change His Mind ]

[ He Got Talked Into Snorting A Line Of Cocaine ]
[ It Went Straight To His Brain ]

[ His Friends Didn’t Lie ]
[ It Instantly Gave Him A High ]

[ But Then The Cocaine Went Into Overload ]
[ & Made His Heart Explode ]

[ He Was Dead Before ]
[ He Hit The Floor ]

[ The Drug Was Something That You Tried About (4) Times In
     The Years Prior ]
[ It Felt Like Such A Nice High ]
[ But Thankfully The Need For It Didn’t Become Dire ]

[ Both Of Your Blood Siblings Were Addicted To Drugs &
     Alcohol @ (1) Time ]
[ Your Older Sister Would Spend Her Last Dime ]

[ For Her Next Fix ]
[ If You Wanted To See The Effects Of More Than (40) Years
     Of Hard Drug Use ]
[ Just Look @ Her Pics ]

[ You Knew That Addiction Runs In Your Family History In
     The Past ]
[ It Seems Like She Took One Taste Of Something ]
[ & She Got Addicted Really Fast ]

[ The Night That Your Biological Father Came Home Drunk ]
[ & Then He Shot Himself In His Head After Trying To Murder
     His Girlfriend ]
[ Your Heart Sunk ]

[ That Should Have Been A Huge Warning Sign For You
     & Your Sister @ A Very Young Age ]
[ You Had Front Row Seats To The Stage ]
[ Watching The Ultimate Act Of Rage ]

[ So Your Handful Of Tastes With Cocaine Was Walking
     A Fine ]
[ Line ]

[ When You Read That Sports Illustrated During That Month
     Of June ]
[ It Woke You Up Out Of Your Personal Cocoon ]

[ It Showed What Drugs Can Do ]
[ If That Could Happen To A Finely Tuned Athlete ]
[ That Could Happen To You Too ]

[ The Death Of Len Bias Probably Saved You From A Possible
     Life Of Drug Use ]
[ Thankfully It Never Got To The Level Of Drug Abuse ]

[ It Is Sad To Say That A Death Saved Your Life ]
[ Reading About Len Bias’s Death Turned On A Very Bright
     Light ]

[ A Light, That Has Yet To Fade ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

||•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•||

(721)▪︎[ There Was A Dream … 8•27•2021 ]

[ Dreams Are Wonderful Things ]
[ Filled With Jokers, Queens & Kings ]

[ One Night You Could Be A Top Notch Card Player ]
[ Then The Next Night You Could Be A Hay Bailer ]

[ Bucking 100lb Bales Of Hay On A Truck ]
[ Learning How To Earn An Honest Buck ]

[ You Could Almost Dream Of Anything ] 
[ One Night Of Make Believe ]
[ Has You On The Stage Of AGT ]

[ Up There With A Mike In Hand ]
[ You Could Dance Around ]
[ Or Be Still In Front Of The Mike Stand ]

[ Maybe It Could Have You Dancing With The Jabbo Wakkies ]
[ As You Dance, You Find That You Are The Lead ]

[ Maybe You Dream One Night ]
[ That You Woke Up One Morning & Found That You Could
     Write ]

[ Not Little Things Like (MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB) ]
[ But Amazing Stories Where Some People Say (DAMN) ]

[ You Write Another & Then It Is @ Least (2) Every Day ]
[ Before That Day You Never Knew The Way ]

[ Of Expressing Yourself In A Positive Manner ]
[ Now It Is More Than The Friendly Banter ]

[ So Is This Still A Dream? ]
[ You Say (NO) As Things Seem ]

[ You Spend Hours & Hours Of Writing Down Your Thoughts ]
[ They Definitely Do Not Come From Robots ]

[ They Have Feeling, Vision & Depth ]
[ You Even Write Stories That Have Made Others Wept ]
[ Those Are The One’s That You Kept ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

||•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•||

(1305)▪︎[ Self-Preservation … 12•2•2019 ]

[ You Walk On Egg Shells For Self-Preservation ]
[ Your Stomach Is Empty ]
[ & Your Brain Suffers From Starvation ]

[ It Needs Food For Thought ]
[ Knowledge About Life Can’t Be Bought ]

[ Life Has To Be Experienced ]
[ & Nothing Is Permanent ]
[ Only Different ]

[ You’ve Put Up A Wall To Keep The Bad Out ]
[ Do The Lyers Have The Loudest Shout? ]
[ Then When They Don’t Destroy Everything About You ]
[ They Sit In The Corner & Pout ]

[ But They Want You Looking @ Them While They Do This ]
[ Their Number One Wish ]
[ Is To Find Someone Weaker To Diss ]
[ To Put Down, To Demolish ]

[ They Leave You As A Shell Of What You Used To Be ]
[ They Count The Minutes To When They See ]
[ You ]
[ Taking A Knee ]

[ On The Way To The Ground ]
[ They Pound, Pound, Pound ]
[ & Kick All Of The Support You Have ]
[ So There Is Nowhere But Down ]

[ What Will It Take ]
[ For Them To See Their Own Mistakes? ]
[ But Then They Proudly Protest (THOSE ARE THE
BREAKS) ]

[ A Mistake Here & A Mistake There ]
[ Those Kinds Of People ]
[ Have No Heart & Don’t Care ]
[ If They Had Two ]
[ They Still Wouldn’t Share ]

[ They Would Never Share The Good Times ]
[ Only The Bad ]
[ They’d Only Read The Rhymes ]
[ Where The Results Were Sad ]

[ Why Can’t You Summon Up The Nerve ]
[ & Kick Those People To The Curb ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

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(1368)▪︎[ Man In The Mirror … 12•4•2019 ]

[ When You Look In The Mirror ]
[ Do You Compare What You See ]
[ To Some Of Your Peers? ]

[ How Do You Compare? ]
[ Does It Look Okay ]
[ That You Shave Off Most Of Your Hair? ]

[ Hair Does Not Make The Man ]
[ Just Like You Are Not Defined By What You Can ]

[ Do For Others ]
[ Because The Only Blood Relative You Have In Your Life ]
[ Is Brent, Your Brother ]
[ & The Son That Was Given To You By Your Beautiful Wife ]

[ But Are You Proud Of The Person That Looks Back @ ? ]
[ Right Now You Don’t Find Many Reasons To Be ]
[ You See ]

[ Your Biggest, Most Proud Thing About Yourself Is That You’ve
Been Able To Stay Married For This Long ]
[ You’re Sure Glad That You Waited ]
[ & Not Have Hurried & Settled For Someone Who Would Turn Out
All Wrong ]
[ You Never Would Have Traded ]
[ This Wife With Someone Who Came Along ]

[ Not In A Million Years ]
[ Would You Do Something That Would Cause So Many Tears? ]

[ Exactly Down To The Letter ]
[ Your Wife Really Deserves Someone Better ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

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(1369)▪︎[ Trust Is A Strange Word … 12•5•2019 ]

[ Trust What You Know ]
[ Not What You Feel ]
[ Things Can Move Really Slow ]
[ When You Think You Got A Raw Deal ]

[ Maybe You Forgot, But You’re Still Responsible ]
[ Cueing Your Memory ]
[ Is Not Impossible ]

[ As You Grow, That’s When You Find The Clue ]
[ That Taking Responsibility For Your Own Actions ]
[ Is The Adult Thing To Do ]

[ When You Go From Complying To Responsive ]
[ You Go From (MAYBE’s) To Decisive ]

[ Then You Go From Adaptive & Cooperative ]
[ To Responsible & Reasonable ]

[ There Are Times When You Use Your Voice ]
[ Saying That You Had No Choice ]

[ But You Had A Choice & You Should Know That ]
[ In The Game Of Life ]
[ Everybody Should Get Their Turn Up To Bat ]

[ We All Know That In Life, You Don’t Always Get A Fair Shake ]
[ Opportunities Are As Good As The Ones You Make ]
[ & Chances Are Gauged By The Risks You Take ]

[ During The Growing Up Years, Growth Is The Hardest Thing
To Accomplish ]
[ Avoiding The Potholes Along The Way Can Be A Great Wish ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

||•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•||

(183)▪︎[ What Says The Signs? … 3•1•2021 ]

[ One Person Said That If A Man Has Never Discovered Something
     That He Would Die For ]
[ Then, He Isn’t Fit To Live? ]
[ It Is A Shame That He Would Never Open His Own Front Door ]
[ To Give ]

[ To A Stranger, A Friend Or A Family Member ]
[ He Has Not Done Anything Good Enough To Remember ]

[ He Either Dies For Something ]
[ Or Dies For Nothing ]

[ Dying Is Not Always The End Game ]
[ Just Like All Lives Are Not The Same ]

[ Is He Only Good ]
[ When He Is @ Peace With Himself? ]
[ Not When He Is Misunderstood ]
[ By Everyone Else ]

[ Sometimes He Makes His Own Heaven & Hell While He Is Still
     Alive On This Earth ]
[ Because He Has Been Hurting People Since His Birth ]

[ The Heaven He Makes, Is When He Makes Others Happy & Smile ]
[ One Thing About Happiness ]
[ It Is Short Lived & Fragile ]

[ Hate Is Like A Really Heavy Chain & Lock Around His Neck ]
[ Whenever Hate Gets Loose & Unchecked ]

[ It Ages His Face ]
[ & Ruins His Name All Over The Place ]
[ Where He Was Once Accepted ]
[ Now He Is A Disgrace ]

[ Then He Will Figure Out Really Quick That Money Can’t Buy Him
     Love ]
[ He Should Always Try To Soar Like An Eagle ]
[ Instead Of Flying Low Like A Dove ]

[ Money Sometimes Causes People Pain ]
[ Because They Can’t Keep Up With All The People That Have
     Latched Onto People ]
[ That Are Only There For Financial Gain ]

[ Blank Faces With Different Names ]
[ But The ( WANT ) Is Always The Same ]

[ When The Room Is Empty The Silence Can Be Deafening ]
[ It Does Not Look Like Anyone Is Listening ]

[ Then He Feels That Nobody Has Heard ]
[ A Single Word ]

[ Said Or Written ]
[ Making Him Feel Like He Has Been Twice Bitten ]

[ Nobody Hears A Word, Because Nobody Is There ]
[ Everyone Left ]
[ Because They Found That He Did Not Care ]
[ To Share ]

[ Then That Causes Him To Question The Whole Idea About The
     Hereafter ]
[ Because To Reach It ]
[ Some May Need A Really Tall Ladder ]

[ He Will Find That The Ones That He Figured Out Have To Really
     Reach ]
[ Are Those The Loudest One’s Who Preach? ]

[ Maybe He Figures Out That It Is Time To Lay Low ]
[ Because Of The Actions Of Others ]
[ That Is What Others Says Is So ]

~ Ka hopena ~

[  Mahalo E Ka hoa  ]
[  A hui hou  ]
[ Aloha  ]

[  Na  ]
[  Lopaka DeVoe  ]

||•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•▪︎•||