The Donkeys of Kona

The sign on Highway 19 says:
“Donkey crossing
next two miles,
dawn & twilight hours.”

Curious.

The girl at the Bad Ass Coffee Co.
tells me the donkeys were once used
to haul coffee beans
down the slopes of Mauna Kea;
but now they are wild, and free
to roam the lava fields;
to graze on tufts of straw grass,
the only thing that grows there;
she tells me they’re in trouble now,
developers want the land
and the donkeys have to go;
each time we pass that sign i look for them.

And then early one morning
there they are,
five of them, gray & brown,
walking single-file,
heading down to the shore
to spend the day dreaming,
and looking out to the West.

Big island Haiku

Driving to Hilo
Mauna Kea draws my eyes
toward heaven.

Wild donkeys of Kona
cross the highway at twilight
to graze on tufts of yellow straw grass.

Snorkeling at Kahaluu
this time I watch
big, lazy turtle!

Black lava fields,
clusters of palm trees at ocean’s edge -
oases of green civilization

Sunlight flashing on
Kealakekua Bay -
reef fish enchant me!

copyright 2006