at first glance a wall
but a visage lovelier
for weathered sculpture
beyond the surface
freshness – shadows and depth
beguile and confuse
Pohaku is Hawaiian for “stone” or “rock”, often used for Hawaiian rock walls. Working on Kauai this week, I was charmed by an apparent pohaku wall in the middle of nowhere. Curiosity prompted me from my Jeep to see that the “wall” is natural; vertically draped polygonally-jointed lava, with a multitude of weathering rinds. For all my years working in Hawaii, I do not recall seeing this kind of wall loveliness before. Indeed: Age Before Beauty -in people and in nature.
Wai is Hawaiian for “water”. It as been a wet week, unusually so for the normal “dry” season in Kauai. Rain splashing into the the hotel pools captured my glances often as I walked by. But by pausing, peering and exploring, I saw much more than I would have by just walking by the pretty raindrop-glistening leaves. Indeed: Nothing is What it Seems to Be – in people and in nature.