End of Session

None of our tough questions get answeredHard heads and tight lips and red facesHiding truths under armor cracks of brief … More

The Friendly Stranger in the 1974 Black Mercury Marquis

When he stepped out of his carI stood still in Mānoa Shopping CenterI thought he was Tom SelleckBut on second … More

Litterbug

As he headed down McCarthy Mall to the faculty union meeting in Kuykendall Auditorium, Dr. Terry Hong saw a boy … More

A Smile

Where it came from, I had no way of knowing. Perhaps it crawled up from the stream below my house. … More

Daily Mantra

All the weeds in my yard will disappearNo tree branches or leaves will ever fallThere will never be a line … More

Keep On Keeping On

In the way you sayIn the shape and in the formIn no uncertain termsEven if it falls exactly as you … More

All Life’s Noise

Listening to nothing in the cool morningI smile as Buddha would if I only wereAnd blow a kiss that molds … More

Off Script

Some song about what goes on under the coversI’ve never experienced quite the same frantic anticsAs seen on TV or … More

Write Like H E Double Hockey Sticks

If you want to tell today’s plain factYou’d best record it right awayBefore it’s blinded and bewildered by timeTurns into … More

The Odds

It’s been a year now since Kenneth stopped in to pay what he owed me.  Walking in after three tentative knocks, he produced … More

And you get baloney from how?

Bologna’s a city known for sausageThat disavows any knowledgeOf what goes on down those sketchyDark streets where meat and pavement … More

The Lessoning of You Knew Who

So little of you, you now knowing downLife teaching you smaller bits of selfA growing descentCertainty slides into mysteryNot doubt, … More

Wind and Reed

A new moon slipping overWhite plate and crystalShadowed beneath where sustenanceIs no longer cravedSlipping and slipped beyond supperTongues still tasting … More

The Man Who Mourned Twice (Part Two)

On the ride home, Kalo lay limp across his lap, exhausted by the long scare due to the first two … More

The Man Who Mourned Twice (Part One)

When he had to put Kalo to sleep, he cried all the way to the vet.  She’d been his sole … More

Do Them Part

Someone wake him before he dreams of her againHe sees them stroll the shore with pant leg cuffs rolled upTo … More

Hunger

I go to your funeral to witness who else is still aliveYou go because Someone may say something about you … More

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Every Sunday my post-church treatIs a jumbo dill pickle from Wally’s SuperetteI can hear them calling to meFloating in their … More

Not Yet

That first time, more than 40 years nowHow many clock ticks like soft background musicFor the streaming rush of words … More

When me becomes Me

When do you know you’re You? Self-realization, Self-actualization Coming in from the swirl of identity unhinged You swinging wildly in … More