Muku a Kaʻaona
Waimea, Hawaiʻi
When the the call is made
when the call is made
we are ready to go
because thats our job,
that is what we do
when the call is made
we don head lights with red lenses
enabling our sight into the pō
safety harnesses dress tired shoulders
worked into health by the substantial
girth of who I call, Puaharatau
the great voyager who holds the stories about canoes, who once traversed the deepest of oceans; her movement is the elapse of time~
her life force dips us back into the
wake of our ancestors.
when the call is made
we make ready for the pitch and roll,
for the heave and hove to
we anticipate a brisk wind
and white chop on the water,
they are indicators of direction,
& holding direction
when the call is made
we man our posts -
Towline, ready!
Halyards, ready!
Sheet lines, ready!
Huki, alu!
Alakaʻi standing by 72
Makaliʻi base...on the by..
When the call is made
our bodies internalize the responsibility
our soul takes on the privilege
our eyes become the in sight
our hands become the work
when the call is made
leadership and crew are everything
and still, the waʻa, the moku,
more....
When the call is made
she is...
the child of Hōkūleʻa,
the soulmate of Mauloa-Eala,
the sister to the great navigator, Hawaiʻi Loa;
To Te Au o Tonga, Te Aurere, Takitumu
they are her kin from the time and space of No Nā Mamo~
They are ʻohana waʻa. She is ʻohana waʻa, we are ʻohana waʻa.
Makaliʻi is the boarder between worlds, birthed through the consciousness
of Kaulupulehu, Kaukaweli (Waiemi),Waikoloa, Kohala and Kawaihae~
She is teacher, sister, sibling, kupuna, mother, mama, reflection, hope, desire, friend~
She is birth, she is life force, she is the sacred.
When the call is made
The navigator, the eyes
The captain, the discipline
The crew, the way
The provisions, the health that feeds the spirit
The Pwo, the generations, the intelligence, the bridge
The Waʻa, the womb, the remembrance, the movement, the protection
WE are the other, we are always together,
When the call is made.
12 AM UPDATE, Monday, July 1, 2019
Makaliʻi, Alakaʻi, and our ʻōhua waʻa departed Lahaina at 11:10pm last evening (sun, June 30) making their way for alignments with Ke Kua Molokini and Hakioawa in the pre dawn light. There, they will kani ka pū and set up for sunrise approach. I will update tomorrow morning at 9am as to the ʻōhuaʻs arrival in Kawaihae.
Love you all and thank you for your continued support of Hanauna Ola. For now, we remain in pule for joy, focus, and strength as our ʻōhua make this run home.
Photo Credit for both photos: L. Anuenue Punua
Moe malie.
Me ka haʻahaʻa,
Pomaikalani Bertelmann