Sweet Cherry Flower

Aloha Poets,
Sweet cherry flower inspires today's poem. Enjoy!

Sugar Brink's Patch of Joy

Pacific Islands lured me to her destination
Her smile her hands her fantasy creation
Forest palace found its rightful place inside the reef
In the waxing moonlight sweet with a heart-shaped leaf

From her royal roots she takes no chances wastes no time
Snippets of wonder in darkness' nursery sublime
Sacred energy to harness, Lono fertility god of cheer
Poi'uala to 'uala'awa'awa, sweet potato poi into beer

To celebrate a season we needed only each other's arms
Simple tuber pink skin the gifts with ceremonial charms
Homage to pay her milky little way cures restless sleeps
'Uala (sweet potato) wili wili (turned under) in softened soil steeps

Lono god of planting, plenty, and peace
Fertility of love sprouts from heart-shaped leaf
Makahiki darling is no creamy or beige colored beet
Kamara or kumara, by any other name, 'uala so sweet

Poni (purple) soft mound circles round cane patch brink of sand
Kinolau (body form), taste of soft and warm there in my hand
Equador to Peru to Hawaiian Islands following as birds flew
Akala (pink) skin in soft soil 'oma'omao (green) cuttings to boil too

Oma'oma'o in darkened glow
Lono harkened for ancients to bestow
Monumental icon akala roots Hawaiian soil
'Uala sweet potato poi to beer we boil

Royal island escape in plants of sweet
Romance the pleasures 'uala vines' leaves treat
Floor mats for padding or make pudding of leaves and vines
Hawaii rain soaking mala (patch) of ancient times

Piele 'uala (mashed) coconut milk baked as bread
Peeled and crushed, blend with water even spirits get fed
Poi'uala sweet potato poi i'uala'awa'awa all in my head
'Uala vines and leaves mats and padding for my bed

Heart shaped and raw stem array for relief
Pleasure of leaf bud milky sap foliage for pig feed
Browns yellows or purples the skin of 'uala even pink
'Uala 'awa'awa (fermented) a nice little drink

Ho'okupu (ceremonial gifts) of reds and purples
Softened soil pu'e (mounds) sugar cane brink circles
Celebrated in season with the homage of joy
Makahiki peace, planting, fertility with sweet potato poi

Polynesian culture sophisticate our native lady
Home of rounded high sugar cane mounds shady
Pu'epu'e (high mounds) stay cool under low moon
Stunted and dry in the bright light of high noon

Flourishing forested moonshine humus
Ancestral design is nothing new to us
Rain soaked mala (patch) a softened soil to watch
Vines and leaves even lure 'opelu for a hearty ocean catch

A simple walk among the arid terraces of volcanic cinder
Restless sleep on decomposed lava beds we tender
Compost leaf buds and tubers plant cuttings in the red soil
Sultry nights of love waxing moonshine softens the toil

Sweet potato cream skinned red-purples under skin
From Equador to Peru a little tuber's iconic global spin
Call it kumara or kumala, 'uma'a or umala
My poni (purple) sweet potato poi 'uala gala

Leaf bud where milky sap drips a fertility cutting
Spread palu palu (vegetable bait) across fish farms abutting
Volcanic cinder softened soil by rainfall on land
Ko'a (offshore breeding areas) beyond the white sand

Kinolau (body form) waterfall island
Grows across oceans to white coral sand
Dreams of long ago sugar brink patches my memories of joy
Poi'uala girl my sweet potato poi