the Big Island

the musk and earth and spice and floral scent of the O'hia rises to me

through the forest canopy

the sound of birds  insects  frogs entwine the moment
preserving it to my memory

shades of forest and new greenlay against the red and black earth

far below
the rain falls

bringing the scents into my heart

echoes
a reflection
the black plain the rain washed dripping rock
the broken gravel which flew here

to this place

in fire.

we walk the coast

brightgreenunderstorywhitecoralblackstonecliffs
too hot to think

the waves high and real

in the ocean
simply being together

the first act of adulthood
I wish we had sat and watchedthe earth
created breaking created
but we found the eellost, slippery, ready to move on

we are both trying to see the other side
of the blank wallwhere the cave was,
once
and instead we find ourselves merely present

here

forever