H is for HORIZONS #AtoZ Poetry

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth

 

Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:

1. To celebrate my appreciation of life

2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi

3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.

 

The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge

 

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H is for Horizons and Hibiscus in Honolulu

 

Hibiscus at Queen Lili'uokalani Botanical Gardens in Honolulu

 

Horizons

Farms spread out

by design of county plats

Home for dinner

Each family tucked in

for the night. 

Breakfast a routine affair

Like Sunday drives

after mass

And holiday visits

to relatives. 

Roads with numbered routes

Lead to fishing holes,

And beach parks

hold dreams that encompass

only near horizons. 

Dare to break the cycle

 

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Poetry is meant to be read, not as an interpretation of the poet’s thoughts but as a means of opening the reader’s mind: to spark imagination, to recall memories long ago experienced, long forgotten; thoughts happy and sad, thought-provoking experiences that form and inform the person you are today. Do not fear the past, so you can enjoy the present and plan a happy future. Allow poetry to open for you infinite possibilities. Claim what rings true for you, leave the rest for others to explore their own awakening.

 

 

Fluid Shades of Poetry in Bloom

Bougainvillea

Summertime in Chinatown

Smiling Wahine

 

 

The wide variety of bougainvillea colors that exist always amazes me. Whenever I come upon a hedge or bush overflowing with bright  hues, my camera practically jumps out of my tote bag. In Queen Kapiolani Park, at the far end of Waikiki, I took photographs of a beautiful array of bushes The display represented a complete blend of an after-shower rainbow, another act of nature that always makes me smile.

 

Even with all those choices though, my favorite is still the brilliant purple contained in a proliferation of bushes found all over the island, from Hawai'i Kai to Hale'iwa and Kapolei to Turtle Bay.

 

The above picture was taken in the early 1990's. This was before a clean-up crew chopped away the branches of flowering bushes that hung over the Nu’uanu Stream canal. The stream flows down from the Ko'olau Mountains, runs parallel to River Street in Chinatown, and all the way to the ocean. With so many extended stretches of concrete and brick buildings, erected after the plague and fire of 1900, I miss the vibrancy and sense of comfort that those blossoms once offered to the area.