Āina
new worlds
spoken into existence
Pele clears her throat
Hi’aka dancing . . .
thunder echoes over the sea
flashes of mist
Lilinoe awakens
over Haleakala
third trimester . . .
the scent of Haumea's flowers
in the baby's cry
swaying palm fronds
Laka lifts her arms to the sun
Nāmaka's tidal wave
crashes into the fire . . .
her whispers
Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA
Note: Āina is the Hawaiian word for “land” meaning that which feeds. It encompasses the Hawaiian worldview of a reciprocal and familial relationship between people and the land.
Publication credit: Under the Bashō 2023 - Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry
Shapeshifters
winter song
Changing Woman tilts the earth
this longest night
spring sunset . . .
a bat enters Evaki's dream
past lives
Spider Woman weaves
a willow basket
Onata's breath
between stalks of corn
children whispering
Kipitaki’s transformation—
a coyote flicks her tail
Sky Woman descends
through a hole in the sky
the sound of the sea
Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA
Publication credit: Under the Bashō 2023 - Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry
Into Thin Air
a flying crow—
above the Eastern Sea
Jengwei carries a twig
women gather peaches
in Wangmu Niangniang's garden
a golden tincture…
Bao Gu prays
for the apothecary
Feng Po Po rides
a tiger through clouds
autumn wind
taming the gorge
Yaoji calms the storm
clay-born humans...
Nüwa and a tortoise repair
the pillars of Heaven
Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA
Publication credit: Under the Bashō 2023 - Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry
