HIIAKA EXPERIENCES KOOLAU WEATHER
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Emerson, Nathaniel Bright
O Kauhi ke i-maka3 o ka lani,
O ka pali keke’e o halawa-lawa,4
O kuahiwi mauna pali poko, ke he’e ia,
E like la me Ka-liu-wa’a,
Ka pali ololo-é5 o Puna i Hilo;
O ka hala o Manu’u-ke-eu,6
E kui, e lei au:
O Kauhi, ka halu’a-pua,7 maka á-lani—
O ka maka o ke akua,
I ka maka o Pe’ape’a.8
Uluulu ka manu i kona hulu;
Ke lele kaha ia lupe la;
Lawe ka ua, lawe ka makani,
A lawe ke ka-úpu9 hulu manu,
Kele-kele i o akua la, e ke Akua.
He akua ia la, aohe ike mai:
O kana luahi10 nui no ka maka,
Ke ala nei;—E ala;
E ala, e ala mai ana, e!
E ala e, Hi-ka’a-lani!11
E ala, e, ka Hooilo ua i ka lani!
E ala e, Maú,12 wahine a Maka-li’i;
E ala, e!
TRANSLATION
Kauhi, thou watch-tower of heaven,
Ensconced in the zigzag fluted wall—
Slipp’ry to climb as Ka-liu-wa’a,
Or the straggling Puna-Hilo hills.—
Ah, the drupes of Manu’u-ke-eu!
Let me string, let me wear them!
Thy body lies smothered in ferns;
Thine eye shines on high like a star,
Or jeweled eye of bat, Pe’a-pe’a.
As a bird, now ruffle your plumage—
How sways the kite in the wind!
On balanced wing, then swing and float,
Warding off rain, warding off wind,
Like a sea-gull, clad in feathery mail,
Course about on the wings of a god.
He’s surely a god; yet hears he not;