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Kula Manu

Transmigration

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