Hawaiian Soul - Julia Kinney

Hawaii: 

a land, 

a culture, 

a people, 

taken and mixed into “The Great Melting Pot of America” 

Hawaiian mountains, 

lush life of greens, dark and mossy. 

Islands and waters they were born from, 

now controlled by the haole. 

Tourist spots springing up like plumerias, 

while the Kanaka Maoli are left 

drowning in poverty and broken from storms; lava burning the land and waters flooding their homes. This land, so far away from America, 

the ruling power that calls Hawaii theirs. 

The islands are left alone to suffer. 

Aloha 

Ohana 

Pono 

Hawaiian language: one of 

love, 

peace, 

respect, 

strength, 

becoming lost to the breezes of the sea. 

Gods and beliefs erased, 

forcing out the spiritual connection to their land. 

Hawaiian song and dance, 

outfits and decor 

turned into themes for parties. 

Wearing scratchy, yellow and pink leis on a plastic cord. Parading around, mocking the ha’a warrior dance. 

A court document, 

a name:

Kahokuolani, 

discarded by a man leaving his home and culture for “the great opportunity” promised in America. 

This loss of name the catalyst for the generational loss of Hawaii. Children unknowing of a past and a people, 

their facial and bodily characteristics watered down, so it is impossible to fit in with their lost culture 

nor the land of the haole 

they now live in.