Kirby's Wright's Weblog

Kahala Beach Poem

I wrote the following at Kahala Beach in January of this year. It had been a year since I last wrote something on/at this beach and I think the months of being away made everything fresh again, as if I was on the beach for the first time in my life. Sometimes being away from a place and then returning has its advantages. This poem has already been accepted for publication!

Kahala Beach 2004

The waves are furious.
They show no mercy,

Angry faces crashing white.
The beach responds by shrinking.

Stones, partially exposed,
Hide their bottoms.

The clouds relinquish their patrols.
The sky shifts from blue to cobalt.

A jet descends,
Roaring like ocean.

Who rests in the deep water
Where the waves are built?

This vanishing strand
Knew Kamehameha’s footsteps.

A chunk of lime-colored glass
Maroons on the sand.