Kukau (Taro)
A mesei a delal a telid:
The taro patch is the mother of our breath
Stable, smooth, comfort food
The solid yin for the wild seafood yang
From the primordial mud where toes
Squish down deep finding a firm foothold
Green hearts reaching upward
Shining in sunlit breezes
The faint sound of a trickling stream
Steady flow, sturdy legs, strong corm
A woman’s retreat, a hallowed haunt
Sharing secrets, stealing time away
Tradition, the ties that bind
Rites of passage, a gathering
Placed with care in coconut baskets
Lined neatly in rows, revealing the riches
Abundance for everyone, not just a few
The breath of life.
Biography
Margo Vitarelli, Education Director at the Mānoa Heritage Center (a botanical garden and cultural site), is a museum educator, exhibition designer, Pacific art historian, printmaker, book illustrator, and grandmother of two beautiful children who live in Palau. She grew up in the Islands of Micronesia, where she later taught education, art, and creative writing courses at the local community colleges. She earned a master’s degree from the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
