Poems by Mark Kaplon

Failure

by Mark Kaplon

From Canary Spring 2019

Mark lives on the Hamakua Coast of Hawai‘i Island, nearby Waipi‘o Valley in the shadow of Mauna a Wakea.

when providence and death and further instructions
finally are forgotten from your senses

when miles are to go, the stones begin to glow,
and you’ve for sustenance only breath

when finally exposure takes you, naked and exhaling,
and knowing is a feeling almost physical

listen… the whole world is speaking— can you hear
those trees, these stones, the sun’s light, the quiet?

© Mark Kaplon

Lost and Found in I‘ao Valley

by Mark Kaplon

From Canary Spring 2019

Getting lost
the narrow foot-
trail snaking
in and out
of I’ao stream to the back
of I’ao valley
I crossed
over moss and thickets
when sinuous
waters sped
in the diminishing dusk
a hard load
strained my breathing
rushing blood
pained my ears
when I set my pack
on a warm brown patch I'd found
just ahead though the way
was wrapped in a tone-
from-behind
that shone
almost like a sound
I couldn't keep up
and found myself standing
in the floating hand
of a citrus grove
a long time abandoned
with one hung fruit
incandescent in the dusk
and sat down to eat
in the grove right
where my hands found me

© Mark Kaplon