by Mireya Perez-Bustillo
For Kamu Vicky Holt
Hula Master Teacher
One could see
she was a Kamu Hula
achieving status in that dance
true to her teacher
chanting, weaving lau hala into baskets
shaping instruments mastering oli, Kahko, hula
to gain her five skirts for the umiki
fasting, purifying in the salt sea
rinsing with ginger to partake in the ailolo
consuming the fish or pig given her
savoring all parts
Climbing the hills for ilima, tilo
for her wristlets and anklets
gathering fresh water stones
her finger tips turn to castanets
listening to the war-like Wu’s whispers
learning healing cures for wounds and bones
Pleasing her teacher reciting from memory
the 2,000 lives of genealogy, knowing
the preparation of the hard gourds
to capture the ocean waves, the flying birds,
the whistling wind
She knows how to please Lolo, bringer of seeds
Extending her arms in front
Bunching her fingers in the flower gesture
Her bare feet in constant response
She is mana in motion
Mele is Hawaiian for combination of song, poetry, dance that expresses everything that they know about who they are
Mireya Perez-Bustillo’s poetry searches for that “other voice” reaching through entrapment and oppression. Her work appears in Revista del Hada, Caribbean Review, Americas Review, The Poetry Table 2020-2024, among others. Her novel, Back to El Dorado was published in 2020 by Floricanto Press.