This is a poem influenced by the history of the Indigenous people for the Islands of Hawai'i. This is about how a people who were isolated from a world that is now brought to the current era and the consequences they paid for their Isolation. MATURE SUBJECT MATTER...PLEASE BE ADVISED!

Hawai'ian words used in this poem:

Ulalana........Spirit Winds
Pele............The Volcano goddess
Kamohoali'i...The Shark god
Kamapua'a...The Pig god
Makahini......The rich soil to be harvested
Lono...........The god of Agriculture
Hina............The Moon goddess
Laihina......cruel sun

The Spirit Winds of Ulalena:

There is a Wind and Rain particular to this Island that rises at the time when orange and purple fill the twilight sky
It whispers of other places and other times, both mystic and real; between heaven and earth, daylight from night
The name for this Island is Ulalena, dedicated to the Spirit Winds who gave it life, the inhabitants call this land
An Island born with a natural landscape alive with volcanoes, a vast blue ocean, primeval rainforest's and sand

The trees in the rain forest manifesting their life-force as the inhabitants, like children run playfully among them
Here, in this paradise, the nations of power have drawn up their plans of conquest, soon the dream will end
Even the most remote lands are touched by the cruel bitter hand of fate and not understanding the ways of war
It is like the sand moving quickly through an hourglass, the ways of the people of the Ulalena will end forevermore

In a rain gray seaport, sailors of our nation bid farewell to their families as they sail off to distant foreign lands
And in the pouring rain, I look into the golden eyes of my beloved, who is crying, I comfort her by holding her hand
Kissing each one of her fingertips with slow precision, I tell her that I will return, and together, we will make a life
I make the promises any sailor would make, fearing an uncertain future, I vow to come home and make her my wife

I cannot tell her tears from the rain that fells like painful needles that sting against my face and pierces my skin
I profess my love to her for one last time, the order is given, I turn to look at my love, will I ever see her again?
But war allows no time for any person to worry about their personal needs, and as I turn my head up to the sky
The smell of wet leather and burning coal replaces the sweet fragrance my love wore, like the rain, I start to cry

The voyage is navigated by charts, the stars in the sky, the migration of birds, who settle and nest for the season
And with our spirits high in the service of our King, victory and our return home, not out of the realm of reason
And after several weeks of naval clashes with the French, and those of the Spanish, in their wood boats
Our ship is crippled, without any supplies or, limps like a dying sea mammal, ready to beach itself, on sandy coasts

It's as if the Volcano goddess Pele, herself, guided us to Ulalena with her staff of fire that burns, in her red hands
When the natives see our ship laboring on their coastline, they come in their canoes, to welcome us to their lands
Both the men and women wave to us, the women do not cover themselves, I have never seen a womans breast
Isn't a woman only to show herself to her husband? The other sailors cheer and pound the armor on their chests

The Captain orders us to maintain our ranks, but some men have jumped overboard to be with the women they see
Dark, and yet so mysterious and beautiful, they are not inhibited, as they wave and dance around us, so carefree
As our ship makes it to the golden beach, we hear the natives chant out the name of Kamohoali'i, the shark god
They seem be praying to our warship, and we must be from the Spirit World, they are fascinating people, but odd

Our Captain walks with great arrogance on the beaches and under his boot, I hear the crushing sound of sea shells
Little did I know that the image of broken shells, would be the fate of these people, but our Captain knew this well
These people may be generous, but they are the enemy and these fools know nothing of how to fight or make war
We can do with them as we like; we'll make a colony of these people, enslave them, that's what we are here for

But for now men, go and have a taste of what a savage woman is like, but remember now, if they mistreat you
They are still the enemy, and if you like it rough and something happens, I will never take their word, to be true
Drink their wine and make love to their women, but don't let you emotions get in the way of your lust for pleasure
Until we can get reinforcements , pretend you are gods, and search these women and find, their buried treasure

The other sailors take full advantage of these women, who are willing to give themselves freely, and to my surprise
There is one waiting for me, her skin is like the color of wet sand and she has a fire in her dark brown almond eyes
She takes me into the rain forest, and without any hesitation reveals herself to me under the canopy of blue skies
My body shakes as she covers herself on me, I have never felt the warmth of a woman before, my innocence dies

She loves me in a way that would be forbidden of the women of my country, we move like waves on the sea
Her eyes are closed as we are now of one flesh, and at the moment of intense climax, she screams and kisses me
I think of the rain and the shores of the England and the face of the woman who waits for me, I wish I could cry
Knowing that I am just a foolish man, I allowed my lust to overtake reason, the drive of passion confuses my mind

Tropical weather changes as quickly as the emotions in my heart; we lay together, drinking rain from green leaves
The taste is as pure as these people, who have no idea that my nation will beat these people like kapa from trees
We fall asleep together in the rain, and when I awaken, I find myself alone against the humidity within the breeze
I have dishonored my future wife, I craw to my knees and beg for Pele, the goddess to put out this fire inside me

I find the women again, and like the Kamapua'a or pig god; I again seek the comforts that only a woman can give
And I lose all inhibition, and like the rest of my fellow sailors, I am starting to enjoy this decadent live, I now live
We start to build a fortress, and within weeks other British ships, bring slaves from the other island tribes
And thats when the nightmare happened, that when the fevers came, and the natives fell to the earth and died

It is as if Pele herself, poured her wrath, like molten lava on these people as the price of showing their hospitality
They ran to the ocean, burning with fever, they had no immunity, to escape the heat, they drowned in the sea
Crying mothers, holding their dying children, waist deep in the water, using broken shells, they cut into their hair
Their blood pours in sacrifice, and covers their faces, like deadly fingers, but to no avail, the dead are everywhere

I see my lover, crying hysterically, with the other women, she is also tearing deep wounds on the top of her head
Crying out to "Hina", the goddess of the Moon, to take her own life, she prays she too can be among the dead
I rush into the ocean, filled with the bodies of the elderly and small children, the ocean is a sea of human blood
And I wrestle with the woman, they call "Makahiki", but to me, this indigenous women is the one, that I now love

I hold Makahiki in my arms not wanting to let her go, the other women are shouting to her in anger "Hoa Kihei Pili"
They say that she carries a "Lahaina" in her womb, and that she should go somewhere else in shame, now to die
We were the gods, and we failed these people, they are losing their culture and their traditions, and they just cry
Makahili, pushes me away and runs crying into the forest, her sin is on my head, with her blood, my hands dyed

More settlers are relocated to the island, we can see the anger in the faces of the innocent, we made into slaves
We have stripped them of their identity, forced to speak our tongue, and in our clothes, they dig their own graves
The land is fertile, growing rice, taro, and sugar, all will be essential for the war, and supply our countries needs
An the original people of Ulalena, are now reduced to slaves on their own homeland, the consequence of our greed

The old "Kapu" system has ended, colonization has begun, Makahili gave birth to a child, I call him "Lono" my son
He is named after the god of Agriculture, for I planted my seed in the soil of his Mother, but now my time, is done
Sailors follow orders and all of us who fornicated with the women here, are to sail away, just like the setting sun
I say goodbye to Makahili, and to Lono, who has golden eyes, and skin of brown, he calls me "Lahiana" and runs

As I sail away, to an uncertain destiny, for the war demands that we must fight again, I think of things to come
A new era of golden faced children, seek their future as the Unalena embraces them, they are children of the sun
I dream again of the rain on the seaport, and holding close to me, the woman that I will marry and take her hand
I will try to explain to her the Spirit Winds of Ulalena, but I do not think she will ever be able to fully understand