by Ruth Saxey-Reese
Ua hele mai au, ua hele mai au
All night I dream of Pahoa
shallow sleep crackling
forest edge-glow
flooding the hall black, red
All night pahoehoe creeps
kindling ‘ohi’a trunks
sideswiping smoked bones
stacked high like tinder
All night my radial nerve burns
keen offering to you, lady,
one more road blocking
under threat of ruin
Ruth Saxey-Reese spent many idyllic childhood summers in the islands of Hawai’i tagging along after her tour guide father. She currently teaches poetry writing and mythology at Boise State University. Her poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in several journals and anthologies, including Boise Weekly, Rattle, Chiron Review, Nerve Cowboy, and The Healing Art of Writing, Volumes 1 and 2.
Hawaii Pacific Review 