Paʻakai

Offering pa’akai to the past
To the memories that still make me weep in the night
To the echo of wails I still hear when silence visits with the phase of the new moon
To the ‘eha mokumokuāhua that flooded my entire body when kūpuna I love were literally carried out as they were arrested for protecting all of us and the Mauna we all love
To the ‘eha kūmākena I still carry on my hip where I carried this sacred ki’i when the wāhine gathered to stand
To the rage I felt when the language of our ancestors was used to tell us to move
To the pain I still carry for all the moments I still don’t talk about because there are no words in any language to explain it

Pa’akai to it all
And sweet songs of aloha ‘āina to seal it

Still here
Still standing
Still loving loving
Mauna Kea

Always have
Always will

Kū Kia’i Mauna

#protectmaunakea
📸: @kapzphotography