Book -EU^ 03- 
 
HA^A^AIIAN 
 MEMORIES 
 
 Blanche Howard Wenner 
 
 Cochrane Publishing Company 
 
 Tribune Building 
 
 New York 
 
 1910 
 

 Copyright, 1910, by 
 Cochrane Publishing Co. 
 
 ©CI.A2615i3 
 
INDEX 
 
 5. 
 
 Diamond Head. 
 
 6. 
 
 On the Old Moana Pier. 
 
 8. 
 
 To The PaH. 
 
 11. 
 
 The Dive. 
 
 12. 
 
 The Widow of Waikiki. 
 
 15. 
 
 The Trail to Tantalus. 
 
 16. 
 
 Hawaiian Garden. 
 
 17. 
 
 The Luaii. 
 
 18. 
 
 The Makers of the Lei. 
 
 19. 
 
 Ode to Hawaiian Night. 
 
 21. 
 
 From a Surf Board. 
 
 22. 
 
 Hawaiian Morning. 
 
 23. 
 
 Molokai. 
 
 24. 
 
 Flying Fish. 
 
 2o. 
 
 Reef Dreams. 
 
 26. 
 
 Hawaiian Singing. 
 
 27. 
 
 Amongst the Koa Trees. 
 
 28. 
 
 Kilauea. 
 
 29. 
 
 L'Envoi. 
 
 30. 
 
 Out of the Golden Gate. 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 DIAMOND HEAD 
 
 Great sentinel of tropic loveliness, 
 
 Titanic rock, clear cut in majesty, 
 
 Across whose rigid back the winds flow free, — 
 
 Art thou the monument of that duress 
 
 Whence sprang the charm that lingering pilgrims 
 
 bless 
 The verdant islands guarded so by thee? 
 Or priest art thou for all that burdened sea, 
 Whose long blue waves at thy still feet confess? 
 Unchanging giant, well may scan thy mien 
 These people, ever luring pleasure sweet ; 
 For thou, all gray amidst the gardens green, 
 And golden quiver of the sunlight's beat. 
 Standest, as did that ancient Ark of Right, 
 Thro' storms unflinching in thy furrowed might. 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 ON THE OLD MOANA PIER 
 
 To the heart of many a maiden 
 
 Who has sojourned in Hawaii, 
 There's a spot forever laden 
 
 With a smile and with a sigh. 
 So ho, for the times so far and dear, 
 
 When they wandered in the morning 
 On the old Moana Pier. 
 
 Then the violet sea was tumbled 
 O'er the reefs, and softly grumbled 
 
 As the silver sands were crumbled 
 In the sun-light hot and clear; 
 
 Then the distant palms were gleaming, 
 And the deeps with fish were teeming, 
 
 W^hile her eyes in his were dreaming 
 On the Old Moana Pier. 
 
 And the afternoon would find them 
 Pacing o'er the foot-worn walk. 
 
 While the Trade Winds blew behind them 
 Little jestings from their talk. 
 
 So ho, for the days so far and dear, 
 When they lingered in the sun-light 
 On the Old Moana Pier. 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 Then the distant ships arriving, 
 
 And the breeze blown-pahii trees striving 
 And the naked natives diving 
 
 From the brown raft floating near — 
 Seemed but pictures strange and olden, 
 
 Etched upon the sunshine golden, 
 All by them to be beholden 
 
 From the Old Moana Pier. 
 
 Strange old pier, so long and silent, 
 
 Stretching out to meet the sea, 
 You have harbored scenes quite violent — 
 
 (Tropic loves that quickly flee!) 
 So ho, for those star-sweet nights so dear, 
 
 When they walked another dance out on the 
 Old Moana Pier. 
 
 Then the lights were softly glowing, 
 
 And the distant music flowing. 
 Through the shadows, deeper growing. 
 
 Brought a wonder and a fear 
 Of "Aloha" softly ringing. 
 
 And the far surf's ceaseless singing. 
 
 While the Tropic night came swinging 
 O'er the Old Moana Pier. 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 TO THE PALI 
 
 (On Horseback) 
 
 1 mount — we are off — my lady and I, 
 
 And the hard road beneath us, in flashes doth 
 fly. 
 I flee from the town, and the soft dreaming heat ; 
 Now strike for the hifls, with your swift flying 
 feet! 
 
 Here steady, now, steady! 
 The dimb's yet to make. 
 And I am not ready 
 Your smooth neck to break ! 
 
 On we swing, and tlie ring of her hoofs on the 
 
 road. 
 The one sound all around — how it beats off my 
 
 load! 
 
 Cool breath from the banyon ; 
 We're nearing the canyon; 
 Green rice fields below 
 Like little squares show. Whoa ! 
 
 Now wheel about, for one last look I'll turn. 
 
 Behold the sea in silver sunlight burn; 
 Far to the left, straight from the reaches free. 
 
 Rolls in the shining surf of Waikiki ; 
 And in the vale, with Royal Palms above, 
 
 Lies Honolulu, city of my love. 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 Now on, my fine lady, your spirit ne'er slacks ! 
 Feel the breeze in our faces, the sun on our 
 backs. 
 We have entered the canyon— ah, here.'s a good 
 place — 
 With that hard road ahead — are you game for 
 a race? 
 
 What a wild rush of air! 
 How the rigid rocks flash. 
 Oh, the wind in my hair ! 
 Slow, my lady, you're rash. 
 
 I would see, as we flee, how the little green trees 
 Wave and bend to the trend of the Pali's mad 
 breeze. 
 
 What a keenness it brings ! 
 
 See, yonder are springs ; 
 
 There's a shelter I know 
 
 From the wind's battle-blow. Whoa! 
 
 How clear the water is, how pure and cold ! 
 
 And high above the mountain, brown and 
 bold. 
 On whose far heights the speeding wind doth rip, 
 
 Seizing all things within his greedy grip. 
 And even the waterfalls he tears away. 
 
 Throwing them upward in a wail of spray. 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 Come, forward, my lady, the Pali's ahead ! 
 
 We must stand on the brink, e'er the sunlight 
 is dead. 
 There's a little cloud speeding adown the wind's 
 train, 
 And if I mis'take not, 'twill drench us with 
 rain. 
 
 But away ! we are glad 
 
 Through the cloud's misty curtain 
 
 To leap — 'tisn't bad ! 
 
 But it's wet — that is certain. 
 
 Oh, I thrill to the will of the surf-scented 
 shower — 
 Ah, at last it is past; now the sunlit cliffs 
 tower ! 
 
 There's the gap and the ocean — 
 Quick, charge this mad motion ! 
 'Tis the Pali's own blow. 
 Here's the brink and below — AMioa I 
 
 How green and sweet the sugar cane's wide 
 fields ! 
 How fresh the pineapples yon meadow yields ! 
 While far away the brilliant, bounding sea. 
 O'er wdiose blue surface sweep the Trade 
 Winds free. 
 And this steep cliff, across whose edge they tell 
 A conquered people struggled, fought and 
 fell! 
 
 10 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 THE DIVE 
 
 He stands erect, slender and shining brown, 
 
 The native boy; 
 Hands high, but eyes upon the sea bent down, 
 
 Gleaming with joy. 
 He springs — a second's bronzy flash is seen — 
 Then swift he shoots into the sea's clear green. 
 
 n 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 THE WIDOW OF WAIKIKI 
 
 {A ballad) 
 
 She was the widow of Waikiki, Uttle, blase and 
 
 pert; 
 And her deepest plan was to snare a man 
 
 For a moon-lit evening's flirt. 
 But wasn't it sad for a gay Marine 
 
 To awake with an aching head — 
 To have lost a girl, with teeth Hke pearl 
 
 Thro' the lure of a parasol red? 
 
 'Tis a pleasant thing of an afternoon 
 
 To sit on a long lanai, 
 And watch the surf boards skim the deep, 
 
 And the pretty girls go by. 
 Now he was a handsome officer, 
 
 And a little bit swift at that, 
 And she was the widow of Waikiki, 
 
 With cherries upon her hat. 
 She loitered by, with a melting eye — 
 
 (Oh, the Tropic day was warm!) 
 And a little talk, and a little walk 
 
 Should never end in harm. 
 But out on the pier is a joysome place, 
 
 In the sunset's tender light; 
 And an autoniobile, and the Country Club, 
 
 Are nice on a Tropic night. 
 So he sent for a brother officer, 
 
 12 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 Who for fun was always game; 
 And they got a girl from the Orpheum 
 
 To keep it from being tame. 
 So off they went, when the day was spent, 
 
 And as over the road they sped, 
 The thought of the girl, with teeth like pearl 
 
 Had not yet entered his head. 
 Yet he was engaged to the preacher's daughter, 
 
 Pretty, petite, and good. 
 Who walked in the straight and narrow path. 
 
 As a preacher's daughter should. 
 And even that night, she was waiting for him, 
 
 To sit on the small lanai, 
 Or to wander in father's garden, 
 
 Under a starry sky. 
 But the Country Club (oh, there's the rub) 
 
 Is so charming a place, I ween. 
 That you never know where the minutes go — 
 
 Alas ! for the gay Marine ! 
 For when he thought, in the midst of the feast, 
 
 Of the maiden there alone, 
 In panic he rushed, with shaky legs. 
 
 To call her up by 'phone. 
 And so mixed he was, that his addled brain 
 
 Thus wrenched the heart of the beauty; 
 'T am hopelessly detained, dear love, 
 
 At the Country Club, on duty! 
 
 13 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 Now who would think that the glasses' cHnk 
 The telephone wires won't cover? 
 
 And the words she said will buzz in his head — 
 Until he finds another. 
 
 Oh, the Country Club, on its wonderful Hnks 
 
 Is a dangerous place to be; 
 And woman and wine and song, 'tis said, 
 
 Are an officer's devils three; 
 But what is lost is lost, you know, 
 
 And there's no use recalling; 
 And a host must do his best, you know, 
 
 When the Tropic moon-light's falling. 
 So a gay Marine, and a swift machine, 
 
 And the ocean by them whizzes ! 
 And the widow is ''on" for a Marathon, 
 
 In the wake of a few gin fizzes. 
 
 She was the widow of Waikiki, little, blase, and 
 pert. 
 
 And her deepest plan was to snare a man 
 For a moon-lit evening's flirt. 
 
 But wasn't it sad for a gay Marine 
 To awake with an aching head — 
 
 To have lost a girl, with teeth like pearl, 
 Thro' the lure of a parasol red ? 
 
 14 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 THE TRAIL TO TANTALUS 
 
 Come, comrade, we will strike the winding trail, 
 Where spicy odors on the sunlight sail; 
 The trail that leads 'neath Eucalyptus trees. 
 Whose silver shadow woo the briliant breeze. 
 And there, with gray-gold lights to mantle us, 
 We'll sing our psean to old Tantalus. 
 So come, my friend. 
 
 'Tis quite a grade that we will have to make. 
 Ere that cold stream our clim-dried lips will 
 
 slake. 
 But, oh, the zest in working towards the heights ! 
 And, looking down upon the valley's lights 
 We'll see the rain-bow o'er IManoa place!. 
 And slender mists of rain by sunlight chased. 
 Then, comrade, come. 
 
 Nay, linger not ; you know old Tantalus 
 Doth ever smile his welcome down on us, 
 Since first together we achieved his crest, 
 And sat upon his bare, cool heights to rest- 
 Commanding from his summit all of life. 
 Volcanic valleys, and the sea's far strife. 
 Dear comrade, come. 
 
 15 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 HAWAIIAN GARDEN 
 
 Breath of a full-blown blossom as it dies ; 
 Scarlet Hibiscus and white butterflies; 
 The ragged whisper of banana trees; 
 And far away the hiving hum of bees. 
 Cocoanuts falling where the sunlight gleams; 
 Soft folding of blue water flowers in dreams, 
 O'er Waikiki a gull upon the wing; 
 Silence — and in the garden Love is King. 
 
 16 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 THE LUAU 
 
 {From a tonrisfs point of viczv.) 
 
 Those natives in the garden — how they dig! 
 What ! They are taking up the roasted pig ? 
 {Or dog!) All swathed in shining leaves of Ti ! 
 Well, this looks like the very thing to me ! 
 
 I say, dark maid, I haven't any fork 
 
 With which to test this charming piece of pork. 
 
 You don't use any ! Really, pretty lass ? 
 
 Well, then, that calabash of fruit please pass. 
 
 How charmingly "the Princess" doth preside. 
 
 (I wouldn't eat like this to save my hide!) 
 
 Some way upon the taste things seem to cloy. 
 
 What! Dip my fingers in this bowl of poi ! 
 
 My appetite is gone — I wonder why ! 
 
 H this lasts long, upon my word I'll die. 
 
 And now "the Princess" shares her perfume 
 
 rare 
 
 My handkerchief is ruined — Help, Lord — Air 
 
 17 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 THE jNIAKERS of THE LEI 
 
 Through sun-bright hours in the narrow street, 
 Phicking the red carnations sweet, 
 Hard by the cool, gray curb they sit, 
 And thread the flower leaves, bit by bit — 
 The makers of the Lei. 
 
 Dark old men, who dream of the past, 
 Glib, fat women, whose tongues run fast; 
 Working, gossiping, waving their flowers 
 At the passers-by through the fragrant hours — 
 The makers of the Lei. 
 
 Leis of yellow and red and blue. 
 Their dusky fingers are flitting through ; 
 Green-leaved leis that shine in the light. 
 And they smile o'er the ginger's scented white. 
 The makers of the Lei. 
 
 Scarlet leis they hang on their arms 
 For the Hula dancers' dusky charms 
 Pink for the gay young lover's hat, 
 And they give an extra twist to that — 
 The makers of the Lei. 
 
 Leis to welcome the stranger guest. 
 And to bid god-speed the friends loved best ; 
 Till it seems they cause in those leis to lie. 
 The charmed sweetness of old Hawaii — 
 The makers of the Lei. 
 
 18 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 ODE TO HAWAIIAN NIGHT 
 
 O, tranced Night ! Silver Hawaiian Night, 
 
 Filled with the mysteries of all things sweet — 
 Here with the darkness touched, there with the 
 white, 
 Still veil of moon-beams wrapped about thy 
 feet. 
 O, voice of Passion answering the soul, 
 
 And velvet hands that touch the spirit's 
 wings, 
 And hold on high the purple starry scroll 
 Whereon God's harmony forever sings ! 
 Night, to the mystic throbbing of thy breast 
 Gather my senses, calling out for rest. 
 
 Thou comest now, even as thou didst of yore, 
 
 When the dark natives lived upon the isles. 
 Built their strange huts, and danced upon the 
 shore, 
 
 Tuning their music to thy saddest smiles. 
 And now, as then, thou sweep'st upon the light. 
 
 Chasing it far across the round, dim sea, 
 And with the yearning sweetness of the night, 
 
 Gather'st the verdant islands close to thee. 
 So, for long hours they lie in thy embrace. 
 
 While high above the stars slip on through 
 space. 
 
 19 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 Of thee all wondrous, sweetest things are 
 born, — 
 The night song of the surf upon the reef, 
 And Love first whisper — stranger to the morn — 
 And Sleep that seals the heavy eyes of Grief. 
 And that pure flower, the Cereus, doth seem, 
 
 Like to a baby's soul, new-born, to lie 
 Within thy dusk, and like a maiden's dream. 
 
 With the first distant breath of light to die. 
 Yea, they are highly sweet, these things of 
 thine. 
 Oh, though the spirit's kinship make them 
 mine! 
 
 Oh, Mother Night, moon-sweet Hawaiian 
 Night, 
 Beneath thy breath the Tropic loves unfold, 
 Even as the Cereus in its silver white 
 
 And fairy fragrance ; and before the old 
 Worn light of days can mar it where it lies, 
 
 So golden-hearted on the wall, it pales 
 And slips to death, — so quickly thy love dies, 
 
 And all its strength in one deep night exhales ! 
 And yet more rare and precious seem those 
 things, 
 Whose birth and death are compassed by thy 
 wings. 
 
 20 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 FROAI A SURF BOARD 
 
 Closely I cling 
 
 To the wet, brown thing — 
 
 And wait. 
 There's a green wave swinging 
 To soft foam singing — 
 
 Now straight ! 
 
 Point for the shore— HOLD TIGHT ! 
 
 I travel fast on its emerald height, 
 
 And rise to my feet in the thing's wild flight. 
 
 Hands out — head back — clear the way ! 
 
 I am drunk with the speed of the salt-tanged 
 
 spray ! 
 I am borne like a god on the water's roar ! 
 Slip, — Plunge ! Onf, I must swim to shore. 
 
 21 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 HAWAIIAN MORNING 
 
 Out of the silent wells of night 
 Springs a little child of light. 
 
 Over the darkened arch of sea, 
 Shod with sun-light wanders she. 
 
 And the Gardens of Hawaii 
 Lure her, as she passes by. 
 
 There her freshest smile she brings ; 
 
 There her rarest song she sings ; 
 Pouring there her sweetest balms 
 
 To filter through the long-leaved palms. 
 Passes sadly on her way — 
 
 Looking backwards all the day. 
 
 22 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 MOLOKAI 
 
 ("The Leper Island'') 
 Far distant o'er the ocean's shining miles, 
 
 In that sweet zone where all the shafts of sun 
 Leap fresh from the Equator one hy one, 
 
 She lies alone— amongst her sister isles, 
 And every hour marks Death upon her dials. 
 
 While over them the moon-gay pleasures run 
 Her weh is of the darkest meshes spun, 
 
 And on her hills a spirit army files. 
 O, Molokai, upon whose verdant breast 
 
 The still, white ghost of Leprosy is nursed 
 What sorrow hangs above thy sunlit crest 
 
 What voice of pain by thy sad surf rehearsed 
 And yet, sweet stranger in the Tropic Sea, 
 
 A tender, Mother-work is done by thee. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 23 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 FLYING FISH 
 
 Like instant, winged thoughts they leap, 
 To swift and iridescent flight — 
 
 A second's gleaming way they keep — 
 Then plunge into the sea's blue night 
 
 24 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 REEF DREAMS 
 
 I dreamed that all the still, sad tears, 
 My soul had wept away from thee, 
 
 Had turned to silver phosphorus 
 And floated on a Tropic Sea. 
 
 I dreamed that all the words we spoke, 
 Through charmed nights so long ago, 
 Had found their voices in the sea, 
 
 And murmured on the coral reefs low. 
 
 I dreamed my soul was but a bloom 
 
 Of Cereus, so silver white, 
 And thine the strangely vibrant moon 
 
 That found its golden heart one night. 
 
 25 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 HAWAIIAN SINGING 
 
 O, Life, that beats in every tone ! 
 No other cadences hke those 
 Ever in my soul's palace rose — 
 So gayly sweet and sadly lone. 
 
 One with the sun-green isles it seems 
 Beneath — the struggling, surging fires ; 
 
 Above — the palm trees' windy lyres, 
 
 Whose sweetness follows in our dreams. 
 
 26 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 AMONGST THE KOA TREES 
 
 How sweet to dream amongst the Koa trees ! 
 
 There on the mountain's shoulder with the 
 haze 
 Of Kilauea on the slow, blue breeze, 
 
 Raising itself to meet the sun's keen rays. 
 
 Yes, there to lie at length. 
 Tingling with life and strength, 
 
 Stretched in the crooked lines of shade and 
 light, 
 
 And ponder on the Koa forest bright. 
 
 How still it is ! The sky of cobalt blue, 
 
 The cool and golden sparkle of the air — 
 Is it through days like this the gnarled trees 
 grew, 
 
 And yet could find themselves no shape more 
 fair? 
 Or do those crooked limbs await 
 
 Old Kilauea's hiss of fate? 
 Enwrapping them, even as those trees of old, 
 
 Whose death we read in sunken lava mould. 
 
 And yet a thousand years may come and go, 
 
 Ere that wild creature issues forth again; 
 And here upon this old tree fallen low, 
 
 I lie and ponder things beyond Man's ken. 
 But oh, 'tis sweet to dream at ease, 
 
 Alone amongst the Koa trees ! 
 While far around the blue-gold charm doth lie, 
 
 And clasps within its magic all Hawaii. 
 
 27 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 KILAUEA 
 
 A Silence desolate lies over all 
 
 Those mist-hung leagues of hardened lava 
 waves ; 
 Whence a red beacon lures to those mad caves 
 
 Where liquid light lashes its prison wall. 
 Held in the grip of Nature's rocky thrall, 
 
 Struggling for the far Freedom that it craves 
 Ever the mumbling mountain's side it braves, 
 While winds blow back the smoke's titanic 
 pall. 
 Oh, mighty force of God! Oh, spawn of Life! 
 Which deep within the Earth's hot heart doth 
 breed, 
 Searing our brains with thy convulsive strife, 
 Here on these sea-far isles we pause and 
 read ! 
 While the pale pilot stars in their dim height, 
 Cours quietly on o'er the red eye of Night. 
 
 28 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 L'ENVOI 
 
 I will not say good-bye to thee, 
 
 For he who once has been thy guest, 
 
 Though wandering far beyond the sea, 
 Will seek again thy star-lit rest. 
 Aloha ! 
 
 I shall not even say good-night; 
 
 Thou knowest sometimes nights are long. 
 Full measure I received of light ; 
 
 I give — these memories of song. 
 Aloha ! 
 
 29 
 
HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 
 
 OUT OF THE GOLDEN GATE 
 
 Out of the Golden Gate, ahoy! Out of the 
 Golden Gate! 
 
 Where the wild wind swings, 
 
 And the spendthrift sings, 
 And the strange, far countries wait. 
 
 I'll breathe no sigh for the Past, ahoy ! 
 
 I'll breathe no sigh for the Past. 
 
 For the furrow deep 
 
 Shall charm my sleep, 
 And I am free at last. 
 
 Now let the pilot go, ahoy ! Now let the pilot go. 
 
 For we must head 
 
 To the sunset red. 
 Where the sea-tanged tempests blow. 
 
 So pull her to the West, ahoy ! Oh, pull her to 
 the West! 
 
 'Till the cliff-house fails, 
 
 And the coast-wise sails 
 Are hid by the sea's white crest. 
 
 Then buck the bounding waves, ahoy ! Oh, buck 
 the bounding waves ! 
 
 Let the phosphorus ball 
 
 Through the black sea crawl, 
 Over the sailors' graves. 
 
 Let the old wind tear and rip, ahoy ! Let the old 
 wind tear and rip ! 
 
 Till the bending spars. 
 
 And the mist-blind stars 
 Into the ocean dip. 
 
 30 
 
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