The Story of Hina

There was a very tired lady

And her name was Hina

Every day she did her chores

And every night

It took all the strength she had

Just to bring water

Into her home

Hina’s husband had a foul humor

And refused to help her

With any of her work

Her son had become a rogue

And he spent his days

Sailing from island-to-island

Thieving and robbing

Hina’s daughter ran off

Into the trees

And now she lives

With the wildest people

In all of Hawaii

One day, Hina was fishing

So that she could make herself

And her ill-tempered husband

A dinner for that night

She said a silent prayer

That sometime soon
She would be able to rest

And the Rainbow over the water

Heard her prayer

And sent down a path

That led up into the sky

Hina thought that path

Might take her

Past the clouds

Into the Heavens

And beyond the Sun

Instead, she followed

The arch of the Rainbow

And when she passed the clouds

She found that she was still

Underneath the beating sun

And the rays were warming her shoulders

And exhausting her

She hoped that she might find

More clouds to cover her

But it was just her and the Sun

And she found herself crawling

Along the Rainbow

Until it went back down to Earth

From there, she lay back

On the surface

Of the cool water

And when she had managed

To catch a fish or two

She made her way back home

Her husband was very cross with her

For not being around

To cook dinner on time

Or bring water into the house

With the sun no longer

Paining her

She looked up

And saw the Moon

Realizing that she had simply

Made her trek too soon

Without the heat of the Sun

She could make her way

Up to her true destiny

Among the Stars

She went running

Back to the water

And there was the heavenly road

The Rainbow had left for her

Hina began the climb

Back up the path

But her husband was chasing after her

He grabbed at her foot

And injured her

But she managed

To kick him off

And he fell down, down, down

Into the water

And was never seen again

Hina kept climbing

And without the sunbeams

To beat her back
She made it

All the way up

To the brightest constellation

In the sky

Her foot was forever scarred

From where her husband grabbed her

But that made her easy to find in the sky

When Hawaiians were looking up

For inspiration

Up next to the moon

Is Hina the Happy Woman

Who holds nothing

But a bowl she managed

To grab from her home

As she was leaving

That had only her most prized

Possessions in it

Though she will never have much

She will have made it

To the stars

Hina reminds the people below

That they need not

Stay where they are

And be treated poorly

If only they’re willing

To go back to the path

And begin another climb