Hiking Moloka’i by Kirby Wright

SNIFF THE STINK-SWEET lantana at Hale Kawaikapu’s second gate. View of dry taro flatlands and a barrier reef cupping the bay.

Maui rises across the Pailolo Channel. In Kamehameha’s time, young men swam the seven miles between islands. The Indigo Sea between islands pulses with poison from the fire. Whale sightings are down. Legs spread, Maui welcomes millionaires to breathe in Lahaina’s dust.

Gusts rip through tent city. Canvas walls shiver. Locals pray to gods old and new for roofs. Their sorrows become curses. A kahuna woman casts a spell on the governor. Billionaires in plantation palaces warm frigid hearts with rum.

Kirby Michael Wright was born and raised in Hawaii. His family land on Moloka’i served as the breadbasket for Kamehameha’s warriors while training for their assault on Oahu.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Wright

Photo courtesy of Kirby Michael Wright