Grace Vaught

I wistfully this morn from my silken bed of sand I scrubbed my troubles with saltwater — Rinsed remembrance from my hands I went and gave myself to the waves not of my DNA And the honu sang me farewell as they carried me away The voyage was everlasting My heart turned with every mile As teardrops crowned my countenance — I'd wished to linger one more while When finally I was delivered to a land I once held dear, An 'iwa bird descended and tucked a nanu behind my ear The westerlies intercepted me Just as the full moon rose; The rest of the journey ran away and took with it my woes Tenderly, the weeping willows Now brush my hair and teeth, And frame for me the starlight Whose golden smile I'm beneath