MY SOUL’S SONG
by Taka Harada
“In the beginning, when God created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the power of God was moving over the water. Then God commanded, ‘Let there be light,’ and light appeared.”
(GNT*)
I grew up in the Lumaha‘i Valley located on the North Shore of Kaua‘i. We were one of two families that lived in the valley during my growing years. The valley is owned by the Bishop Estate and was leased by the Robinson Family to raise cattle.
During stormy, moonless nights, the valley is shrouded by pitch black darkness. I remember as a child, how frightful it was to venture out of the warmth of our home. There was no electricity or any kind of light pollution to soften the darkness.
Our nation seems to be experiencing a very similar fall into darkness and I feel that same kind of fear. I remember studying the Constitution as a little child at our tiny, little, one-room school in Ha‘ena. We had worked hard to become a shining leader of democracy. It seems we have forgotten what our nation has gone through to become a world leader, squandering our goodwill and reputation with our friends and allies.
I contemplated the role of faith in these confusing and dark times. The first three verses of Genesis kept coming to mind. So I have shared these verses above, and now my own thoughts in poetry. May God’s Light shine brightly in all of the dark and corrupt places that have taken root, and bring us home to his Love.
MY SOUL’S SONG
The darkness of the night
Surrounds our being
The passing dark clouds
Obscure star-lit skies.
Deep within our being
A soulful song forms
A voice’s deep longing
For a peaceful sunlit morn.
As the storm surges
Waves form and disrupt
The peaceful shores
Where we meditate.
But there is a meditative moment
Between each cresting wave
That lifts our soul’s song
To its God and Creator.
God hears our soulful song
Rising within the darkness
The light shines – a rainbow forms
Reminding us of God’s promise to all.
– Taka Harada
Takayuki “Taka” Harada was born in the Lumaha‘i Valley on the island of Kaua‘i. He is the author of “Kalaupapa in Poetry,” and is an active member of Ka ‘Ohana ‘O Kalaupapa, an advocacy group for Hansen’s disease patients in Kalaupapa, on the island of Moloka‘i. His poetry has been shared in numerous venues across Hawai‘i as well as in Japan and Taiwan. He has also served as a lay minister at Keawala‘i Congregational Church in Makena, on the island of Maui. You may hear him reading his meditation on the attached video.
Good News Translation – Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
