It is pau hana time
voices blanket the valley.
Feral chickens roost
in red-berried octopus trees.
Sultry trades whisper to
manila palms that nod as
pacific golden plovers hop
hungry across manicured lawns.
Fountains echo
across the koi pond.
Fish feast on plump mosquitoes.
Bullfrogs sing a love song.
Wrapping up another steamy day in paradise
musing under the Mango tree
while gazing at pink clouds
and the orange parrot’s beak heliconia.
1/23/26
Published by
C. S. De Dona
Author, Poet, Photographer, domestic violence survivor, and naturalized immigrant, Cornelia is currently an Arts and Letters member of The Southwest Florida Branch of The National League Of American Pen Women.
Cornelia lived in Kaneohe, Hawaii, for thirty-six years. Also, seven years in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York. She now resides in North Fort Myers, Florida.
Her poems and photography are published in print, online, and in Rain Bird, a literary and art journal of the University of Hawaii's Windward Community College (2008-2013).
In 2013, Cornelia received Rain Bird's Kolokolea Poetry Prize for her poem, "Speaking French."
In 2016, her chapbook "Hawaiian Time," entered in the National League of American Pen Women's Vinnie Ream contest, was awarded third place in their inaugural multi-discipline category.
View all posts by C. S. De Dona
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