Joe Balaz


Three Hawaiian Islands Pidgin Poems


ARRIVING LIKE WUN SEABIRD



It came ovah da Rockies

and dipped down to da West Coast
before it stretched out across da Pacific Ocean.


Prior to dat
it even spanned da Great Plains

and da Mississippi River.


Caught by da wind
and floating wit da clouds

da big paper messenger
approached its destination.


Golden in its color
and painted so foa its bold intent

da flying gift
decorated wit indigenous triangles

wuz reflected by da sun.


From wun open field
near Lake Erie

wun hand pulled
and guided da string of dat shining kite

to arrive like wun seabird
above da islands.


From Pu’uwai to Kapoho

if you look
you might be able to see its glow

as it emanates its energy
wit some kine of story to tell.



NO NEED BORROW ANYBODY ELSE’S FINS



Da literary critic looked at da body of work
and wondered why I nevah read so-and-so.


She reasoned
dat we all swam in da same genre

and assumed
dat I would have checked out

everyting da adah people wrote.

Not necessarily so
cause I not into matching stroke to stroke.


Dere’s wun big ocean out deah
and I stay doing my own ting.


Look at me now
streaking down da face of dis wave

and setting my position up
to shot myself through da barrel.


From da beach
you can see my style

falling into place aftah awhile.


Still yet
some people like make comparisons

and lump everyting togettah
into wun tidy dissertation.


Watevah.


I’m just looking towards da horizon
waiting foa da next catchable wave

and anticipating wun exhilarating ride

cause wen I go bodysurfing
I no need borrow anybody else’s fins.



DA BUGGAH TALK HIP



Da buggah talk HIP
wit anykine wala’au.


He got wun hunch
dat sneaky fingahs wuz grabbing da bunch

so he wen carang da intruding orangutan
wit wun verbal boomerang.


Good ting he made dat move

cause da ovah-sized orange babooze
wuz caught squashing all da ripe bananas.


Da brainwashed simian
nevah like anybody else foa eat

and he wuz holding up wun English dictionary
like wun Bible.


Da buggah talk HIP

and he wen fling moa words
dat wen fly like darts

to hit da hairy intruder
all ovah da body.

Da poor ting
wen go swinging in pain through da trees

looking like wun porcupine.


At da same time across town

up da stairs
in wun building on wun campus

wun professor in wun room

wuz programming moa agents
to squash moa bananas.


Watevah da case may be
it’s someting to really see

cause da results going be da same

wen da buggah talk HIP
wit anykine wala’au.

Glossary

babooze buggah carang HIP Kapoho Pu’uwai wala’au

Idiot. Person. Ricochet; to hit with a glancing blow. Hawaiian Islands Pidgin. Town on the island of Hawai’i. Town on the island of Ni’ihau. Talking; to speak.

Joe Balaz writes in Hawaiian Islands Pidgin (Hawai'i Creole English) and in American-English. He edited Ho'omanoa: An Anthology of Contemporary Hawaiian Literature.

Balaz is an avid supporter of Hawaiian Islands Pidgin writing in the expanding context of World Literature. He presently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
 
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