I’m the flower pinned to a party wallI’m the violet that always shrinksI’m hardly the life of anythingIt’s a bit … More
Author: Lanning Lee
I write both prose and poetry. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I would like to see this site be one of comments and sharing of your own pieces. Together I hope we can grow our writing.
No Such Thing as Even Days
Every slice of frozen timeHeld up to the examining lightHold your place in itWith a wrinkling index fingerAnd crooked bonedWhile … More
Accustomed
I have grown built to wait silentlyTo be played with by someoneA green Army man with green rifleStanding on his … More
Life Cycle
When I was a kid in HonoluluEvery funeral in town it seemedInvolved a huge motorcadeThat moved by in slow motion … More
How did this cliché become a cliché?
If you’ve ever said that X is/was refreshingAnd you meant it seriouslyI wasn’t there to hear itAnd don’t actually know … More
Ocean Meditation
A dazed light reflectionSun glinting on its fast free runUnleashed across the sky refractionArc of a bright bird winging onTo … More
The Pink Piggy Bank
The gold sun slipsInto the thin horizon lineAnother day spentNot paid for but savedFilling a memory bankGrowing fatWith another coin … More
Crapshoot
Marriage is on the tableReady to risk a rollComeA lot of actionAll sevensYou’re in heavenPerfect harmonyFeeling lucky as elevensOr don’t … More
The Muse Knocks
While raking the yardI wonder what I mightWrite about today My neighbor’s black catBig BoyTears across my path And I … More
Purchased for Research Purposes
They’re handcuffsCalled “wrist restraints”Made of leatherHe adds a “scandal flogger”Wonders about the tickle and the stingBuys these two for nowThey … More
I Would Die for You
My love for you is a little likeA red, red rose — and moreIt’s a tornado in my brainEverything whirling … More
Down and Gone
The first step out of thereFailing to memorize ten Bible versesOn every bus ride to confirmation classHumming rock songs in … More
To Move On
She writes magic and wind sweepall graceful and rising angel voicesand as always in golden hoursshe sings herself most comfortin … More
Small-Talk
You know I’m horrible at small-talkThis is what it’s like when it’s my turnHow I want to say something to … More
My Publications
Here’s a link to my Amazon Author’s site: https://www.amazon.com/author/lanninglee Sketches from the Hawaiian Archipelago, a collection of short stories So Very … More
Toward a Better End
He rarely restedHardly treadedSwam forwardPushing throughA thickening waterWearing out his arms and legsWeaving through uneven lanesCurve and swerveInching aheadTo touch … More
Ending with a Hawaiian Curse
accio remotecontroleobombardia caralarmia changeio stoplightia a-t-m-ium dispenseoauto washnwaxiusdoggywalkumbosseo avoidame alldeitodeimowius lawnius et hedgesgo trimio loseameum sum weightogopopum cornium et saltio plus butterumsnooziam buttoniam … More
He Wove Magic
He fought as a flyweight in his Wisconsin college daysSkinny, yes, but a vicious tacticianGrowing up on Kaua‘i, his nickname … More
How the Riff-Raff Celebrate Aloha Friday
Friday nights, pau hanaAt an unnamed venueA group plays traditional Hawaiian musicThe crowds come in drovesJam the inside seating areaJam … More
All Is But Toys
Last Monday I did what I always doSettled now into my retirement routineI woke up, for which I’m thankful every … More
Lanning Lee 