Two Poems by Rick Hartwell

 

Kaua’i, South Shore Morning

 

Early a.m. clouds of pink luminescence

scudding southwest by easy trade winds.

Later they will fill with rain and return,

back to water the lushness of the island.

 

Heavy surf builds as tide recedes and

wind rises, buffeting chop into the reef line.

 

Many of the waves turn translucent jade,

or emerald, green with white ruffled tops

as they peak and crescendo on the reef

trying to elude the surfers at daybreak.

Flowering Hibiscus

Consider the bountiful hibiscus tiliaceus,

Tall flowering tree of the tropical Pacific,

Inured to waterlogging and tolerant of salt,

Used as outriggers and cordage by native

Hawaiians who called it hua: abundant fruit.

Yellow as the early dawn with crimson core,

Turning sunburst orange throughout the day,

Then brilliant red as it wilts and drops at dusk

As the mother tree prepares for birth again;

Smiling, it now blooms in my daughter’s hair.

Rick Hartwell is a retired middle school teacher (remember the hormonally-challenged?) living in California with his wife of forty-seven years, Sally (upon whom he is emotionally, physically, and spiritually dependent), two grown children, a daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, and fifteen cats! Like Blake, Thoreau and Merton, he believes that the instant contains eternity.