(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 The 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 ]

(154)▪︎[ Give Myself A Talk … 2•17•2020 ]

[ I Tell You This ]
[ I’ll Tell You No Lie ]
[ That When Death Gave You It’s Kiss ]
[ I Had To Try ]
[ To Keep A Dry ]
[ Eye ]

[ You Were My Last String ]
[ Connecting Me To This Messed Up Family Thing ]
[ Now, Who Will Bring ]

[ Such Laughter ]
[ Only During Our Phone Calls ]
[ Not After ]

[ We’d Punch Each Other Silly With Our Put-Downs ]
[ We’d Take Turns Being The Clown ]
[ You Were Supposed To Take Me To Our Home Island ]
[ & Show Me The Town ]

[ All Of Our Dreams Of Growing Old Together ]
[ Has Changed As Fast As The Oregon Weather ]

[ All Because Of This I Ask ]
[ Why Did You Not Complete The Simple Task ]
[ Of Putting On Your Mask ]
[ During The Night After Last ]

[ Maybe You Are Now Sending Me A Message, In Your Own Way ]
[ If I Want To Wake To See Another Day ]

[ I Must Fight ]
[ To Make Things Right ]
[ By Making Sure That MY Mask Must Be On Tight ]
[ Night After Night ]

[ So Everytime I Balk ]
[ I Should Give Myself A Good Talk ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(532)▪︎[ I Don’t Know Where I Am Going … 6•29•2021 ]

[ Right Now I Feel Like I Am Set Adrift In A Boat On The
     Sea Of Disarray ]
[ I Am Trying To Get To The Island That Makes Sense ]
[ But I Can’t Find My Way ] 

[ Just When I Think That I Am Heading Down The Right Path ]
[ I Float Right By ]
[ My Coordinates Are Wrong, Because I Have Always Been Bad
     In Math ]

[ I Have Circled The Island @ Least (5) Times Now ]
[ On The (3rd) Pass I Thought That I Saw A Cow ]
[ & Then I Spent A Big Chunk Of Time ]
[ Wondering How? ]

[ But I Guess Whenever I Have A Daytime Nightmare Anything
     Goes ]
[ I Once Had One In June, But Then It Snowed ]

[ Floating Aimlessly On The Sea Was Never On The Bucket
     List For My Life ]
[ I Already Accomplished The One On The Top Of My List ]
[ & That Was To Find Me A Loving, Supportive Wife ]

[ But She Can’t Make A Boat Paddle Magically Appear Anytime
     Soon ]
[ If She Could, I Wish That She Could Do This By Tomorrow Before Noon ]

[ How Can I Get Out Of This Dangerous Current Taking Me
     Nowhere ]
[ Why Can’t I Find The Current That Will Take Me Somewhere ]

[ Somewhere Quiet & Calm ]
[ Somewhere That Won’t Give Me Sweaty Palms ]

[ A Place Where My Feet Are Planted Firmly On The Ground ]
[ Dirt, Grass, Concrete Or Mud ]
[ Somewhere That Doesn’t Involve Water Anywhere Around ]

[ When I Am In These Daytime Nightmares Everything Seems
     To Be Moving Really Slow ]
[ Can I See Them Coming? ]
[ That Would Be A ( NO! ) ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(148)▪︎[ Who Is Worse Off? … 2•16•2020 ]

[ There Are Alot Of People Having It Worse Off Than Me ]
[ I’m Just So Blind To See ]
[ How Bad Things Could Be ]

[ I Could Be Living In The Streets Without A Home ]
[ Then The Few People That I Know ]
[ Would Look @ Me As An ( UNKNOWN ) ]

[ They Would All Turn Their Backs On Me @ The Same Time ]
[ Leaving Me Destitute ]
[ Without Even A Dime ]

[ Are There Bad Times ]
[ Ahead? ]
[ Tomorrow, Will My Process For Making Rhymes ]
[ Be Dead? ]

[ Why Am I Predicting Such a Dark Cloud? ]
[ That Is The Question For The Day ]
[ Are The Voices Loud? ]
[ In Telling Me It Could Easily Be That Way? ]

[ Just Because I Was Born Under A Dark Cloud Doesn’t Mean
I Have To Live Under One ]
[ I Can’t Make A Single Thought Fun? ]

[ @ Times I Feel So Alone, With The Weight Of My World
Pushing Me Down ]
[ By Pushing On My Shoulders ]
[ I Lost My Crown ]
[ As I Got Older ]
[ Now I Constantly Frown ]
[ As My Sweats Get Colder ]

[ Am I Only A Citizen Because Of A Social Security Card? ]
[ Hundreds, Thousands Of Them Are Fraudulently Made ]
[ It’s Not All That Hard ]

[ What If I Lose It, Or It Is Misplaced? ]
[ Would A Knock On The Door ]
[ Bring The I.N.S. & Me Together For A Face To Face? ]

[ Which Country Border Would They Drop Me Off ]
[ @? ]
[ I’d Be Like A Lost ]
[ Cat ]

[ & Once Again Without A House In Which I Live ]
[ I Could No Longer Invite Others In ]
[ So I Could Do My Favorite Thing … Give ]

[ I Bet Not One Person That I Gave To Would Come To My Aid ]
[ They Would Just Look @ Me With A Blank Stare ]
[ Because Their Memory Would Fade ]
[ Now They Won’t Share ]
[ What They Made ]

[ That’s Okay ]
[ I’d Say ]

[ I Came Into This World Naked, Not Owning A Cent ]
[ When I Die ]
[ Maybe Someone Will Wonder Where My Good Life Went ]
[ Even I ]
[ Wonder What Was The Big Life-Changing Event? ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(144)▪︎[ Roses … 2•15•2020 ]

[ Roses, Roses A Dozen Roses For You ]
[ How Many, How Many? ]
[ There Should Be A Bunch Of Six Times Two ]

[ I Wanted To Send Two Bunches Of Six In Each ]
[ One Bunch Is Yellow ]
[ & The Other Is Peach ]

[ I Hope In Some Small Way ]
[ That It Would Make Your Day ]

[ I Wanted It To Be Large ]
[ & In Charge ]

[ Stand It High On Top Of A Book ]
[ So When Your Fellow Employees Walk By ]
[ They Can Do Nothing But Look ]

[ They Might Ignore You, But I Won’t ]
[ If They Knew The You @ Home ]
[ They Will Answer The Question Of Why I Don’t ]

[ So You Could Act Like The Mad Hatter ]
[ & Show Those People ]
[ That To Me, You Matter ]

[ @ Home You Have A Loving Husband & Son ]
[ I Am Your Moon ]
[ Like You Are My Sun ]

[ My Stories May Not Earn Me Money ]
[ & That Is Okay With Me ]

[ I Don’t Need A Holiday To Do This ]
[ I Have Been Remiss ]
[ Because Sending You Flowers ]
[ Is Something I Miss ]

[ I Love You Forever & Ever … Amen ]
[ I Hope You Never Feel That I Only Love You ]
[ Now & Then ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(143)▪︎[ When Why & How? … 2•15•2020 ]

[ What Would Happen If Your Two World’s Would Collide ]
[ Does That Mean You Died? ]

[ Could They? ]
[ Would They, Someday? ]

[ What If They Did? ]
[ What Would You Do? ]
[ If Your World Slid ]
[ Down The Drain Right In Front Of You? ]

[ Would You Panic? ]
[ Why? ]
[ Would You Be That Manic? ]
[ Kind Of Guy? ]

[ Why Would You Exhibit That Kind Of Behavior? ]
[ Would You Really Think That You Are Going To Die? ]
[ & Come Face To Face With Your Savior? ]

[ Would You Worry Once Again? ]
[ When, When? ]
[ Would The End Of The World Begin? ]

[ How Would This All Come About? ]
[ It Definitely Is Not A Situation ]
[ Where You Can Throw Up Your Hands & Scream ( I WANT OUT!! ) ]

[ You’re Stuck & You Don’t Understand What You Should
Be Doing ]
[ Now ]
[ Maybe You Could Be @ A Little Chapel In ‘Vegas Renewing ]
[ Your Vows? ]
[ Any How ]

[ Would You Stay Busy ]
[ Or Rest? ]
[ If You Were To Be Lazy ]
[ Would You Think That Would Be Best ]

[ & If The Rockets Started To Explode All Around ]
[ Leaving Huge Craters ]
[ Where There Used To Be Ground ]

[ You Take A Deep Breath, Trying To Get Stable ]
[ Then You Wonder ]
[ { ARE YOU ABLE? } ]
[ If That Would Be A Huge Blunder ]
[ You Could Always Hide Under The Table ]

[ To Feel Safe ]
[ But Don’t Think In Haste ]
[ Go Pack Your Toothbrush & Toothpaste ]
[ & Throw Everything Away ]
[ Like It’s Waste ]

[ & Shiver & Hide ]
[ All Of This, Because ]
[ You Thought You Two World’s Were Going To Collide ]

~ 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 Saying ( BECAUSE I SAID SO ) ]

[ Don’t Say ( I LOVE YOU ) Just To Get Respect ]
[ Do Things, That You Want Done Yourself, 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 Someone 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 ]
[ Before You Found That There Was A Nice Mixture Of Nouns & Verbs ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

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

[ 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 ]

[ Who Is Going To Come Over To Give Attitude Adjustments
     To My Disrespectful Son? ]
[ I Love Watching The Video Of You Coming Through The
     Door & Making Him Run ]

[ 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 ]

[ The Kind Of Ass Chewing That He Deserved ]
[ When You Did That I Wanted To Say ( DINNER IS SERVED ) ]

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

[ But The Good Kind ]
[ Not The Ones That Messes With My Mind ]

[ Big M, You Have Become An Integral Part In My Life ]
[ You Are A Protective Light ]

[ You Are The Only Younger Man That I Have Come To
     Respect ]
[ When Zoey Comes Over For Any Kind Of Event ]
[ You Will Also Be Someone That I Expect ]

[ Through My Years I Have Learned ]
[ That Respect Is Something Earned ]

[ You Earned Mine Before We Even Met ]
[ That Is Hard To Give ]
[ & Extremely Hard To Get ]

[ I Know With Your Job You Are Extremely Careful, Every
     Step You Take ]
[ & There Are Very Few Mistakes That Are Made ]

[ Every Day & Every Night ]
[ You Put Up Your Best Fight ]

[ I Have Always Made This Clear ]
[ Any Time That You Ever Want To Talk ]
[ I Am Right Here ]

[ Big M, Things Are Going To Be Just Fine ]
[ Always Hold The Line ]

[ Everyday That Zoey Is Here I Always Ask How You Are ]
[ Near Or Far ]

[ You Are Always In My Thoughts ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(209)▪︎[ Yes You … 3•3•2020 ]

[ I Want To Write My Best Stories When I Write About Us ]
[ I Want My Words To Hit The Reader ]
[ Like A Greyhound Bus ]

[ A Bus, Not A Train Or Car ]
[ I Want To Leave Them Wanting More ]
[ I Want Them To Take The Feeling & Put It In A Jar ]

[ Twist The Lid, Nice & Tight ]
[ So Nothing Can Leave, Except A Little Bit Of Light ]

[ Everytime You Called I Would Hang Up & I’d Walk Away Grinning ]
[ Because If I Was In A Competition For Best Brother ]
[ I Knew I Was Winning ]

[ By A Mile ]
[ Even Though I Would Have To Wait Awhile ]

[ Your Call Was ALWAYS Worth The Wait ]
[ & Now When You Moved To A Closer State ]

[ God Called You Home ]
[ Oh, If I’d Only Known ]
[ Every Week I Would Had Been Calling You On The Phone ]

[ But I Didn’t ]
[ & I Couldn’t ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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

(531)▪︎[ What A Great Physical Therapist … 7•1•2021 ]

[ Kirsten, What Can I Say, That Hasn’t Already Been Said ]
[ Your Physical Therapy Sessions ]
[ Work So Much Better, Than Any Med ]

[ That Can Ever Be Prescribed ]
[ What You Do For Me Just Cannot Be Described ]

[ You Have Told Me To Refrain ]
[ From Concentrating On The Pain ]

[ Well Let Me Tell You Something About My Life ]
[ I Don’t Have Much Going On ]
[ Besides A Few Friends, The Pain & My Wife ]

[ I Have NEVER Had A Physical Therapist Call To Check Up
     On Me ]
[ @ Home ]
[ No Other Physical Therapist Ever Wanted To See ]
[ What They Didn’t Know ]

[ How Things Were Going Since Our Last Time? ]
[ No One Ever Wanted To Drop A Dime ]
[ & None Of Those In My Past ]
[ Deserves A Story For Them That Rhymes ]

[ Whenever Someone Brings Up P.T. I Give Them A Small Clue ]
[ About Where To Go ]
[ I Try To Send Business Towards You ]
[ That Is One Bit Of Information I Feel That They Should Know ]

[ I Tried To Tell Your Boss Today When He Was Leaving &
     We Were Waiting For The Elevator ]
[ He Seemed Annoyed ]
[ He Acted Like I Was Such The Bother ]

[ But I Said What I Wanted To Say ]
[ He Seemed Very Bothered In The Worst Way ]

[ Everything You Have Me Do On My Own ]
[ @ Home ]

[ I Have Never Tried Before ]
[ I Know That You Are Trying To Make It Easier For Me To
     Be Able To Walk ]
[ Without Collapsing To The Floor ]

[ You Pull My Right Leg To Go Over There ]
[ & You Do It With So Much Care ]

[ I Like How You Explain Things To Whomever Is Your
     Shadow ]
[ I Think You Make It So Easy To Get To Know ]

[ You Would Be Such The Greatest Instructor ]
[ Or Teacher ]

[ A Good Instructor/ Coach Never Instructs Their Students
     To Do Something That They Themselves Would Not Do ]
[ They Would Learn Things That They Would Do, Too ]

[ Now You Have Another Child On The Way ]
[ I Know You & Your Husband Are Excited About That Day ]

[ Your Son Will Have A New Sister Or Brother ]
[ I Hope They Grow Up To Be The Best In Their Job ]
[ Like Their Mother ]

[ I Am Still Amazed About How Strong You Are ]
[ When I Think About All Of The Wonderful People
     In Your Agency ]
[ I Will Always Say That You Are The Brightest Star ]

[ If Ever There Was A Contest To Say Who Is The Best
      & I Had A Vote ]
[ I Would Put Your Name In Capital Letters ]
[ Because Kirsten, You Are The G.O.A.T. ]

[ I Thank YOU For Being YOU! ]

~ Ka hopena ~

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