Meet the author: Kaumualiʻi Titcomb

 

I’m in that mood that slows us down.

My feet are buckling under the pressure as the world falls down

My back is bent with an overwhelming weight

Hope is lost forever and far out of sight

I am resigned to accept the cards fate has dealt me

It seems that I will not emerge from this situation intact

As all seems to be lost I make haste to the sea

I sit and pray for guidance and help

As I look out into the distance the ocean rumbles

Out from the ocean appears a large octopus

It’s tentacles reach for my leg

My head tells me to run but my na’au urges me to embrace

I trust my na’au.

As the tentacles wraps around me he pulls me into the kai

My head is running in fear and speaking logic, my na‘au urges me to have faith

I trust my na‘au.

In the ocean I can feel the salty water surrounding my body

The pressure is almost unbearable yet I feel strangely calm

My mood is stuck at tranquility

As hard as I try I cannot break the serenity

The emptiness and darkness of the ocean is beginning to comfort

In the darkness I can see clearly where my focus needs to be

The work at the piko is not done

The work at home is not done

The work at school is not done

I am a haumana, I have a kuleana

I am the hiapo, I have a kuleana

I carry the name of my kupuna, I have a kuleana

The land is in pain, I have a kuleana

It is all made clear and suddenly

I emerge from the kai, the water has cleansed

The beach I am in is not the one from where I have come

I dig my feet into the one

I look at my view of the kai

From my left to the right there is only sea

180 degrees vision of nothing but the ocean and whatever lies south

My stay here I feel as though the strength of my back increasing

Just as I am to make roots and rest he returns

The tentacles wrap around my legs and take me back to the sea

This embrace is a solemn one

The octopus drags me back to the sands from where I came

Finally I am returned to the beach

He is out of sight and has disappeared

A different heaviness pours over me

The back is strong

The mind is clear

My goal is plain

My hands and feet are ready to carry on

The piko is still in pain

The work at the piko is not done

I look to the south

I know one day that I will return to the island

I will return to the piko and continue the work

I am Kanaloa bound

–        Just Another Kanaka Talking