[Translation.]
Song
Up to the streams in the wildwood,
Where rush the falls Molo-kama,
While the rain sweeps past Mala-hoa,
I had a passion to visit
The forest of bloom at Koili,
To give love-caress to Manu’a,
And her neighbor Maha-moku,
And see the waters flash at Mono-lau;
My hand would quiet their rage,
Would sidle and touch Lani-huli.
Grant me but this one entreaty,
We’ll meet ’neath the omens above.
Two flowers there are that bloom
In your garden of being;
Entwine them into a garland,
Fit emblem and crown of our love.
And what the hour of your coming?
When stands the Sun o’er the pali,
When turns the breeze of the land,
To breathe the perfume of hala,
While the currents swirl at Wai-pá.
This mele is the language of passion, a song in which the lover frankly pours into the ear of his inamorata the story of his love up to the time of his last enthrallment. Verses 11, 12, and 17 are the language of the woman. The scene is laid in the rainy valley of Hanalei, Kauai, a broad and deep basin, to the finishing of which the elements have contributed their share. The rush and roar of the waters that unite to form the river Wai-oli, from their wild tumbling in the falls of Molo-kama till they pass the river’s mouth and mingle with the flashing waves of the ocean at Mono-lau, Anapa i ke kai o Mono-lau (verse 8), are emblematic of the man’s passion and his quest for satisfaction.
