Joe Balaz
Two Hawaiian Islands Pidgin Poems
BACK FROM DA OVAHWHELMING ABYSS
Kevin wen shoot out of dat cubicle
like wun Jack-in-the-box on wun spring
wit all of his compressed emotions
exploding in da sky like fireworks.
Tinking outside of da enclosure
wen seem to give him moa exposure
in imagining tings
dat adah guys no can see.
Da only problem is
dat illuminating light
beaming out of dat creative brain of his
is just too much radiation to handle.
His girlfriend says
it’s like being forced
to look directly into da sun—
She tinks he has OCD.
Kevin tinks nutting of it
cause he stay riding wun tornado
like wun whirling dervish.
Da drive engine
is obsessive and compulsive
but just like chaos
it does have wun certain order
dat eventually falls into place.
It doesn’t mean
dat Kevin is any easier to deal wit—
He’s still wun tsunami
wen it comes to his passion.
Da good ting dough
is dat at least his girlfriend’s criticism
wen finally ring wun bell.
She tells him
to kinnah slow down
and look into da mirror.
Kevin still going be
wun supercharged jumble of loose wires
but maybe wit some luck
he just might pull his intensive nature
back from da ovahwhelming abyss.
TUNA CAN PLAN
It looks like
all da adah tuna cans on da shelf.
Same five ounce size
except foa da particular brand label.
Wun excellent source of omega 3
da contents wuz harvested
dolphin free
if it’s important foa you
to believe dat.
Twelve grams of protein
packed wit two hundred milligrams
of sodium
da stuff inside heah
wuz caught out in da ocean legally.
As I rotate da can in my hand
dats wat all information
is telling me anyway.
I dunno why dough
but I stay suspicious.
Is dis wun interstellar trick?
Am I holding da maddah of all land mines
in my fingertips?
It’s amazing
how dey got dis ting to look exactly
like all da adah tuna cans
on da shelf in da store.
Dat should be nutting dough
to wun advanced intelligence
springing wun big time surprise
on all of humankind
wen you would least expect it.
I wonder wat da alien agent looked like
wen he wen plant dis ting in da store.
So now I stay like Adam wit da apple
at ground zero
debating if I should puncture dis ting
wit my can opener
so I can make me wun sandwich.
Dose shrewd invaders
from outtah space
wit dere devious booby trap
stay preying upon my basic need
to eat wun simple lunch.
If I open dis tuna can dough
da condensed energy inside
going explode like anadah big bang
and earthy life as we know it going be toast!
I read all da science books
and da relevant study papers.
I know dat paranoia sometimes
runs wild in da minds of shut-ins.
People can be really weird
believe me I get it.
You should see some of my neighbors
in dis institution—
Loony tunes every day of da week!
But dat no mean
I stay suddenly questioning my perceptions
in my very own cognitive monkey house.
It’s just dat
if I gaddah open someting
maybe dis adah can of chicken soup
might be wun bettah choice instead.
Joe Balaz writes in Hawaiian Islands Pidgin (Hawai'i Creole English) and in American-English. He edited Ho'omanoa: An Anthology of Contemporary Hawaiian Literature.
Balaz is an avid supporter of Hawaiian Islands Pidgin writing in the expanding context of World Literature. He presently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Two Hawaiian Islands Pidgin Poems
BACK FROM DA OVAHWHELMING ABYSS
Kevin wen shoot out of dat cubicle
like wun Jack-in-the-box on wun spring
wit all of his compressed emotions
exploding in da sky like fireworks.
Tinking outside of da enclosure
wen seem to give him moa exposure
in imagining tings
dat adah guys no can see.
Da only problem is
dat illuminating light
beaming out of dat creative brain of his
is just too much radiation to handle.
His girlfriend says
it’s like being forced
to look directly into da sun—
She tinks he has OCD.
Kevin tinks nutting of it
cause he stay riding wun tornado
like wun whirling dervish.
Da drive engine
is obsessive and compulsive
but just like chaos
it does have wun certain order
dat eventually falls into place.
It doesn’t mean
dat Kevin is any easier to deal wit—
He’s still wun tsunami
wen it comes to his passion.
Da good ting dough
is dat at least his girlfriend’s criticism
wen finally ring wun bell.
She tells him
to kinnah slow down
and look into da mirror.
Kevin still going be
wun supercharged jumble of loose wires
but maybe wit some luck
he just might pull his intensive nature
back from da ovahwhelming abyss.
TUNA CAN PLAN
It looks like
all da adah tuna cans on da shelf.
Same five ounce size
except foa da particular brand label.
Wun excellent source of omega 3
da contents wuz harvested
dolphin free
if it’s important foa you
to believe dat.
Twelve grams of protein
packed wit two hundred milligrams
of sodium
da stuff inside heah
wuz caught out in da ocean legally.
As I rotate da can in my hand
dats wat all information
is telling me anyway.
I dunno why dough
but I stay suspicious.
Is dis wun interstellar trick?
Am I holding da maddah of all land mines
in my fingertips?
It’s amazing
how dey got dis ting to look exactly
like all da adah tuna cans
on da shelf in da store.
Dat should be nutting dough
to wun advanced intelligence
springing wun big time surprise
on all of humankind
wen you would least expect it.
I wonder wat da alien agent looked like
wen he wen plant dis ting in da store.
So now I stay like Adam wit da apple
at ground zero
debating if I should puncture dis ting
wit my can opener
so I can make me wun sandwich.
Dose shrewd invaders
from outtah space
wit dere devious booby trap
stay preying upon my basic need
to eat wun simple lunch.
If I open dis tuna can dough
da condensed energy inside
going explode like anadah big bang
and earthy life as we know it going be toast!
I read all da science books
and da relevant study papers.
I know dat paranoia sometimes
runs wild in da minds of shut-ins.
People can be really weird
believe me I get it.
You should see some of my neighbors
in dis institution—
Loony tunes every day of da week!
But dat no mean
I stay suddenly questioning my perceptions
in my very own cognitive monkey house.
It’s just dat
if I gaddah open someting
maybe dis adah can of chicken soup
might be wun bettah choice instead.
Joe Balaz writes in Hawaiian Islands Pidgin (Hawai'i Creole English) and in American-English. He edited Ho'omanoa: An Anthology of Contemporary Hawaiian Literature.
Balaz is an avid supporter of Hawaiian Islands Pidgin writing in the expanding context of World Literature. He presently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
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