Aloha! I want to great you with Hawaii’s Breath of Life and share the wonder and blessings these islands keep giving to me. I have held the soil of your sacred islands and woven your fragrant forest vines with my hands. I have felt the pure beauty of your ocean—as I swam in turquoise and jade waves. I have breathed in the flower-scented air and gathered colorful kehelelani seashells in the rain from which your ancient leis were made. Also, I am committed to helping Hawaii protect its land, its creatures, its flowers, and its loving people with their rich ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Language. I feel like I knew these islands before I was born.

The Light of Hawaii Forever was inspired from the beginning. I had already written a number of poems about Hawaii during the times I truly slowed down on these islands. After the wildfire, I watched this book continue to happen as new poetry flowed to me—from the joy of the sunrise over the Haleakala Crater to learning geological information that inspired me to write about the creation of Hawaii from a single hotspot in the Pacific Ocean. I then learned about Ni’ihau, the mysterious island across from Kauai, where the owners made a vow to King Kamehameha V to always keep the Hawaiian Language, traditions, and culture pure on this special island.

All of my poems have come from personal experiences in Hawaii. The ideas and wonders wash up to me like waves on the shore—impressing their words and thoughts into my soul   as the poems deepen and take shape inside me over time. As you read The Light of Hawaii Forever, I hope my poetry will bless you with the wonder I have known and continue to feel.  I invite you to:

Meet a curious little gecko with bright black obsidian eyes who delights me on my patio.

Watch a pod of dolphins skimming the waves and a whale’s tail breaching the surface

Rise before dawn to walk the beach and noticing an older man carving something above the highest tide line. He looks toward you and shares, “I am carving the torso of a woman”

Meet a young Hawaiian who appears like an angel when I needed a lifeline. He put his sandals on my feet and led me down a thorny cliff to the safety of a black sand beach.

Read the Legend of the Naupaka Flower that tells a precious story about two young  Hawaiian lovers.

Meet the driftwood dragon, stretching his fiery breath across the ocean’s horizon, seeing the rich colors of Waimea Canyon in Kauai.

“The Light of Hawaii Forever is the most amazing and life-giving book You can own and share with others. These poems with their breath-taking photographs will inspire and warm your heart—as they deeply honor Hawaii’s Aloha culture and the strength and resilience of its people.” —Elizabeth Leonard