Tutu* Mango

She stood there
Hawaiian proud
Hawaiian strong
legs firmly rooted
in her
Rich Hawaiian A’ina
Proud, Brave, Passionate, Generous
Her fisted hands
resting on her ample hips
Her gaze
Reaching for
her
Hawaiian sky
Her proud girth
much larger
than my arms
could reach
a waist that
would be
an embarrassment to
and disdained by
a Haole woman
(Haole – that is what
the Hawaiians call
white people
Ha – the breath of God
Ole – without
Haole – people without
the breath of God)

But
She was different
She was old
She was Hawaiian
She was fat
She was forever giving
And
She stood on
A Haole woman’s
Property
(Who could be so arrogant
to presume
to own
someone
like her?)

This voluptuous tree
was not stingy
in
the Western way
she had no
racial
class
or species
bias
For years she
stood there feeding
the birds
the feral chickens
the wild pigs
and
all the humans
in
the neighborhood
with abandonment

She freely rained down
her precious
golden mangos
for all
to enjoy.

When first I passed by
I thought
They
were only
pruning her
and
doing it badly
– cuts done wrong
and
in summer
when
she was laden
with
ripe mangos

My body convulsed
when
My instant image
Was of a pregnant woman
having
arms and legs
amputated
for no reason

But
Later
as the chainsaw
whined on,
I realized
that maiming
Was not enough
and
that she,
like the Hawaiian culture,
the Hawaiian Kapuna*
and
The Hawaiian people,
was
Being annihilated
So that
Another Haole
woman
could insist
on transforming
the Bold Abundant Richness
of Hawaii
into
another
manicured
California-looking,
sterile,
controlled
world.

It is not just
the cutting down of
a tree
It is the
attempted
annihilation of
a culture

It is
quite simply
MURDER
in
Its fullest meaning

Tears roll as I
give thanks
for
Her spirit
and
pray
for forgiveness
for
us all

She was
the
oldest tree
left
in
the valley
and
very healthy!

*In Hawaiian, Tutu means grandmother.
Kapuna means elders