On Visting Waikiki

Waikiki Beach

is one of those places

I feel like I should hate

on account of its many hotel towers and tourists--

Like Las Vegas or Disneyland--

except that I love it.

I love looking at the faded green hills

and Diamond Head off in the distance.

The aquamarine water

and bright yellow catamarans;

the candy-pink umbrellas dotting the beach

in front of the old Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Even the throng of oiled bodies on the sand

and high-rise buildings that crowd the shore

take on a warm, pastel glow

under the Hawaiian sun,

​like figures in a vintage postcard.