And this, too, is Paradise

Here in paradise they’ll pay
take me to Hawai‘i nei
Home of Diamond Head
pearly shells from the ocean
Tourists negotiate the poor
night and you and blue Hawai‘i
Barely housing themselves
lovely hula hands
In tarps and cardboard boxes
dreamed of paradise for two
Hunkered down in the drizzle
everybody loves the hukilau
Hungering for trashcan leftovers
want to go back to my fish and poi
Shopping carts crazed overflow
make me happy
All they value old and tattered
make me feel fine
Cars race by inches away
reveal their scent through the day
Whipped breezes of street steam
one fond embrace
Car exhaust so hard to breathe
until we meet again
In paradise they’ll waste away