Kupuna,
if there is somewhere after here,
do not wait for me at a gate.

I would not know you there.

Meet me where the sky sits with the ocean,
where neither can tell
which one is holding the other.

I will know to look for you
in blue hue
our people have always understood
was never the end of anything.

Meet me where the fish swan upstream,
against everything pulling them backward,
where the water remembers the small silver bodies
that refused to surrender to the current.

I think you’ll recognize me there.

I have spent much of this life
swimming the same way.

Meet me where the vines grow tall,
where they climb without asking
what they are allowed to hold onto,
wrapping themselves around old trees,
reaching toward light
with roots still buried in home.

I will recognize you
by the way the leaves move
when there is no wind.

And, Kupuna,

Meet me where the ‘ohia grows from fire. 

Not beside fire.

From it.

Where black ‘aina
should have meant nothing could return,
But red lehua opened anyway—

small flames
growing from what the flames could not destroy.

Meet me there
because I need to tell you:

I finally understand.

Survival was never
the absence of burning.

It was what our people learned
to grow afterward.

So when my time comes,
do not search for me
in the concrete,
beneath names someone else gave our ‘aina,
words of colonizers explaining us
as though we are already gone.

Go makai.

Follow the stream
until the fish turn against its current.

Follow the vines
until they climb beyond your reach.

Walk across the cooled black stone
until the first ‘ohia
breaks red against the horizon. 

Then keep going
until you cannot tell
whether the ocean is reaching upward
or the heavens are coming down.

I will meet you there.

Where the sky sits with the ocean.

Where my feet can still touch Hawai’i
and my spirit can finally reach you.

And when I see you,
I will not ask
whether I was Hawaiian enough,
whether I learned enough,
whether I carried everything correctly.

I will only say-

Kupuna, I came home.

and maybe you will point,
toward the water,
toward the vines,
toward ‘ohia rising from fire,

and tell me:

You never left.
~

Rep'em Hard

Everyone needs a cozy go-to hoodie to curl up in, so go for one that's soft, smooth, and stylish. It's the perfect choice for cooler evenings!

• 50% pre-shrunk cotton, 50% polyester
Heather Sport Dark Navy is 40% cotton, 60% polyester
• Fabric weight: 8.0 oz/yd² (271.25 g/m²)
• Air-jet spun yarn with a soft feel and reduced pilling
• Double-lined hood with matching drawcord
• Quarter-turned body to avoid crease down the middle
• 1 × 1 athletic rib-knit cuffs and waistband with spandex
• Front pouch pocket
• Double-needle stitched collar, shoulders, armholes, cuffs, and hem
• Blank product sourced from Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Honduras or El Salvador

Disclaimer: Due to the fabric properties, the White color variant may appear off-white rather than bright white.

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!