Page:The Rebellion of 1895 (1895).djvu/102

 (By Hon. R. M. Daggett, Ex U. S. Minister to Hawaii).

The cocoa, with its crest of spears,
 * Stands sentry 'round the crescent shore,

And algaroba, bent with years,
 * Keeps watch beside the lanai door

The cool winds fan the mango's cheek,
 * The mynah flits from tree to tree,

And zephyrs to the roses speak
 * Their sweetest words at Waikiki.

The closing curtain of the night
 * Is shading down to gold the gray,

And on the reef the flaring light
 * Of brown-armed fisher, far away,

Dyes red the waves that thunder by
 * The sturdy bulwarks of the sea,

And breaking into riplets, die
 * Upon the breast of Waikiki.

And all unchecked in martial course
 * By menace or the spear of foe,

The misty columns move, in force,
 * Their chieftain leading as they go.

Up, up Nuuanu's rocky bed,
 * Till, looking down through clouds, they see

The beetling front of Diamond Head
 * And silver sands at Waikiki.

Like truant children of the deep
 * Escaped behind a coral wall,

The lisping wavelets laugh and leap,
 * Nor heed old ocean's stern recall.

All day they frolic with the sands,
 * Kiss pink-lipped shells in wanton glee,

Make windrows with their patting hands,
 * And singing, sleep at Waikiki.

Now come wild echoes through the air,
 * And shadow of a rugged face,

With iron limbs and shoulders bare,
 * The chieftain of a dusky race

Whose hostile front, with, lifted lance,
 * And war-proas flecking all the sea,

Sweep thro' the palms with hold advance
 * Along the shores of Waikiki.

On, on! The foe has reached the verge,
 * And o'er the Pali's awful side,

With shout and stroke and battle-surge
 * Is poured a shrieking human tide.

Then all is still; the work is done.
 * And thus the shadows come to me

When twilight clouds, kissed by the sun,
 * Have bronzed the shores of Waikiki.

O Waikiki! O scene of peace!
 * O home of beauty and of dreams!

No haven in the isles of Greece
 * Can chord the harp to sweeter themes:

For houris haunt the broad lanais,
 * While scented zephyrs cool the lea,

And looking down from sunset skies
 * The angels smile on Waikiki.


 * [It was upon the beach at Waikiki that Chas. L. Carter met his death. This border of the sea, lying between Diamond Head and town, is one of the most delightful spots on earth. It is here that many of the wealthy people of the city have villas. On gala days the beach is alive with bathers. There is always a heavy surf coming in and riding the rollers with canoe or board is a favorite amusement.]