WAIKIKI by Peter Apo

Two warrior-kings did take the field

One to victory, one to yield

Clubs and slings and muskets drawn

Cannons roar, a bloody dawn

From that fray so long ago

Their children’s children’s voices flowed

Green the hills, taro turning

Earth ovens glow, wood fires burning

Three streams ramble from valley to sea

A time of peace and dignity

But not long to last, no age stands fast

An unsuspecting crown is passed

Strangers footprints in the sand

In whispers plot a future grand

No place for families from the soil

Where once with O’o did joyful toil

No more the streams to freely flow

The land reclaimed, the final blow

A canal defines the wetlands fate

As sea and mountains separate

The farms of farmers now are gone

Native hearts are left forlorn

Pestilence plucks the very best

Bloodlines and memories put to the test

Cathedrals from the flatlands rise

Steely towers pierce the skies

A skyline to define the times

Monuments to cultural crime

O Waikiki, my Waikiki!

Will ever you return to me?

I am your native son you know

The bloodlines flow from long ago

Ancestral spirits ride the tide

Returning warriors to your side

Come back Hawai’i, come to me

Make me yours again, set me free!

I am forever - Waikiki