hiraeth: maui.

maui knows my body
before i do

one breath
and my shoulders fall
my muscles melt
in warm sand
beneath the sun

blue skies mirror

rolling waves

as haleakalā watches
from the distance

the air tastes like
salt
coconut
and pineapple foam

it smells like gardenia
papaya
fire
and sometimes
someone’s joint
passing through the breeze

there are drums
beneath the sound of the waves
families laughing
people living
without apology

i remember
swimming at sunrise
and beneath a setting sun

the mermaid swimming hole
shooting stars
rainbows
and sunset walks.

i have been there
three times

but the longing
feels much older

i was born in Oahu
and sometimes i wonder
if my body has spent
my whole life
returning because
i do not have to search
for myself

i am already there

when i close my eyes
i walk back into the ocean
and let the water take
everything
i am tired of carrying

even from far away
maui reminds me

home can be a place
and a feeling
inside my own body

-hiraeth.