Pono Is
Tomas Belsky
Artist, activist, and Founder of Ka Huina, a cooperative gallery in Downtown Hilo, Tomas writes with an honest, authentic voice and approaches both large-scale politics and local values with direct and personal insight.
Contact Tomas & experience more of his poetry.
Pono Is
for HC Jr., Realtor
The Hawaiian Kumu Hula sees through things clearly:
"If you no understand Pono
You stay there."
The realtor was a local boy
He cut down the lychee tree
sending shocks through the neighborhood.
The big tree's position as a center of Pono in Pu'ueo ended that day
and the lesson learned from the loss to Hilo is immense.
No longer will those sturdy branches support Hilo's kids
and the occasional fortunate young visitor -
both boys and girls.
The Lychee tree was famous beyond Pu'ueo
for its succulent, sweet and juicy fruit.
Perhaps that is what sent us into a state of schock.
It was incomprehensible!
Life without that tree as a center of events
will be less sweet, far less sweet for all of Hilo.
The tree needed a bit of tidying, for sure,
having been essentially neglected for the past decade,
but that three was ready and willing to yield once more
its God given delicacies to all.
Certified healthy
Why was it the realtor's decision
to murder the tree that fed the soul of the community.
"It did not fir into my plan for the property."
The land - these islands cannot survive
without PONO.
"If you no understand Pono
you stay there."
Local boy too, he cut em
cut em down - da fukka
Many times we went
climb dat tree aftah school time
sweet
one dem lychees.
"wuzz, brah, wuzz!"
Connections:Coming soon
Tomas' Poetry:
☆ Father's Day Thoughts
☆ Hilo Quake
☆ Pono Is
