The last time I heard Hawaiian music in Waikīkī
It was a quiet night at Blue Note before the pandemic struck
I hadn’t seen her for years and curious
I went to hear Kanoe Cazimero and Mihana Alului
Kanoe (aka Tootsie) is the sister of the famous Robert and Roland
Key figures in the 1970s Hawaiian music renaissance
I’d not known she sang and played ‘ukulele, too
And the small crowd made for an intimate setting
My guess was not many knew of them performing
And as such missed out on an amazing evening
I’m not fluent in Hawaiian language
So I appreciated that she took the time to translate song lyrics
She looked the same as I remembered
That blend of Hawaiian and a cascade of other races
She was grayer but with the same arresting gaze
The same woman I’d worked side by side with ages before
We’d decorated Aloha Week Floats for Duty Free Shoppers
Back in the ‘70s when we saw long futures unfolding in front of us
And 40 years later here we were
Finally converging at a point in those futures
She said she recognized me
Which I hope was true
Lanning Lee 