We are driving down Hana Highway
Window down
Blasting the smooth Americana guitar licks of
Your favorite band
Salty trade winds whipping golden clumps
of matted hair
Into my eyes
You are
Vintage square sunglass-clad
Your deeply bronzed shoulders emerging
From a week-old sunburn
The sun has parted the blue sea of sky like it is judgement day
My pale blue eyes blink repeatedly in the light
And I wipe beads of perspiration from my brow
You are talking like a cartoon chipmunk
And my belly is cramping from laughing
Undulating hills of grazing cattle
Stretch out before us
So many shades of green lapping us up
As we drive
Mile after mile
You point out a mamma chicken busily herding a row
of waddling chicks away from the road
Groves of banana trees sparkle in the sun
Bursting with bright yellow bananas
ripe for the picking
Ransacked farm houses are perched on the hillsides
Barefoot children play a game of tag
They wave impishly at us as we pass by
The little girl with a missing front tooth
And I lock eyes for one second, and then whoosh…They are in the rear view mirror
Your chipmunk intonations are really slaying
Our souls grow fecund on a steady diet of laughter
We are eating melted chocolate bars
The floor is littered with cellophane wrappers
There is a chocolate mustache on my face
And no napkin to wipe it off
A joy is perched inside of my chest
Like a friendly bird, looking around
Deciding to build a nest
We inhale gratitude
Exhale through softly smiling lips…
Inhale gratitude