Ka Puana: I Mua e Nā Wāhine

By Jackie Pualani Johnson

Our backs twist together, nā wāhine o ke kai.
We plunge our paddles as one, forcing the Pacific
Under the ‘ama, the canoe piercing the incoming swell

Salty spray clinging to lashes, lips,
Filling the bottom just enough to slow our progress
Bailer clunking between our legs, tangled,
Kahi mālie toward the horizon.

Women warriors of the waves, battling speed and
Swells that loom from the breast of an ocean mo‘o,
Defying reason and belittling human presence,
Humbled, we push like women in labor,
Unable to stop the pulse.

There is unity in heaving with the hull.
Twisting a haku of bodily power with each huki,
Releasing passionate cries of effort,
No longer mothers or lovers,
But mea hoe wa‘a.

Nā wāhine o ke kai: women of the sea
‘Ama: outrigger float
Kahi malie: long, easy strokes
Mea hoe wa‘a: canoers

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Jackie Pualani Johnson, professor of Theater Arts at UH-Hilo, is editor of Ho‘okupu: An Offering of Literature by Native Hawaiian Women. It is the first such anthology, showcasing the writings of contemporary Native Hawaiian women—many of them residents of Hawai‘i Island. To use a metaphor from this poem, the authors “plunge their paddles as one” into the sea of story and song. The book, published in 2009 by Mutual Publishing, is available at Basically Books in Hilo.

Photos by GP Merfeld, gpmkona.com