Edward J. Kame’enui
A Soft Light on the McKenzie for 2024
The Lahaina fire is now underground
where Pele will gather it without voice.
When the wind is right and
ancient warriors have their backs to her,
she will release it again and follow its path
in her alabaster muumuu.
One hundred and thirty feet off my deck,
the McKenzie River flows a thick
milky brown carrying itself high
to the banks where the season
is green, wet, and worrisome.
In early fall, after Lahaina,
a wood carver on the salty Oregon coast
carved a pueo to specs—
a great horned in burnt cedar dress.
The pueo now sits on a topped-off Douglas Fir
just off the deck where it sees all—
Lahaina included.
Pele would be envious of
the soft fibrous light the pueo holds
above the bulky seasonal flow
of the McKenzie.
December 15, 2023
Edward J. Kame’enui
Pele: Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire
Pueo: Owl
Muumuu: A long, loose-fitting dress
Lahaina Fire: August 8, 2023