HPA junior Kahanu Hunt has accomplished something that precious few writers – and even fewer student writers – can claim. Her poem “The Silent Cry of the Kai” was selected for publication in the newest issue of Colossus Press, a national poetry anthology.
Kahanu’s English teacher, Karla Brundage, encouraged her to submit the poem. Brundage holds a B.A. from Vassar College, a Masters in Education from San Francisco State University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. This is her second year at HPA. We asked both Hunt and Brundage a few questions about this creative milestone.
How did this poem come to be submitted for consideration to Colossus Press? Was it part of a class assignment?
Brundage: Kahanu expressed a love for poetry in our first assignment which was writing the history of her name in poetic form. I noticed her unique way of expressing complex themes especially about Hawaiian rights and sovereignty and self-determination. When I received the request to submit a poem to Colossus:Current, I thought Kahanu might be interested in submitting a poem as well. Kahanu has a strong voice which seeks social justice and self empowerment.
Colossus Press is highly selective, and it is not a press that is in any way specifically publishing “youth” voices. What does this recognition mean to you?
Hunt: It feels surreal. I never imagined my work being recognized and published by such an amazing organization. As a student writer, I’m used to sharing my work mostly in classrooms, with friends, or not even at all, so seeing it published alongside established voices makes me feel both proud and encouraged. It reminds me that my perspective matters and motivates me to keep writing and growing.
What do you hope readers will take away from your poem?
Hunt: What I hope readers take away from my poem is a deeper respect for water as more than just a resource. It is life, culture, memory, and connection. I wanted to show how water holds stories of my ancestors, my family, and my community, and how it must be protected for future generations. I’m honored to share it, because it’s not just my voice, but the voice of my kūpuna and the wai itself asking to be heard. At the end of the day water has given us everything, and what have we given back?
I wanted to show how water holds stories of my ancestors, my family, and my community, and how it must be protected for future generations.
Kahanu, can you tell us a bit about your background? How long have you been at HPA?
Hunt: I am proud to say I was born and raised on the Big Island. I spent my early years growing up on a farm in Puna, then moved to Hilo where I attended public school, and grew my roots deep into the island and my culture. When my grandparents discovered HPA when I was younger, they immediately knew it was the kind of school they wanted my older brother and me to attend. So when my older brother got into HPA and started going to school in Waimea, I fell in love with the campus and the stories he told me. When I enrolled in 2023, I figured out that all the magical stories my brother told me were true. This is my third year attending this school, and I am so grateful for all the amazing opportunities it has given me.
Ms. Brundage, what poems or poets do your students read as part of your classes?
Brundage: We read a variety of poetry. I try to represent poetry from classics such as the conversation between Li Bai and Du Fu and Shakespeare’s sonnets, to contemporary poets such as Audre Lorde and Punani Burgess, Ocean Vuong, to youth poets who have not been published yet.
Kahanu, what’s next for you as a creator? Do you plan to keep submitting your work, or are there other projects you’re excited about?
Hunt: I’ve always loved creative writing, so this poem came naturally to me. My main interests are in fashion and fashion business, which I hope to pursue in the future. I know I’ll continue writing in my free time as a way to express myself, even if nobody sees it.
The Silent Cry of the Kai
I dive into the wai, engulfing me into her unknown turrid waters
Forever changing me
Since the first moment I touched her, I yearn
For her elegance, her power to make everything silent
Just for a moment
Endless memories that have blossomed from her beauty, grace, strength
That moment when friends catch their first wave
Their smile, a light strong enough to pierce through the shadows of our world
The same world where darkness seeps into the waters that sustain us
But the world isn’t dark, it’s the people who cloud it with their actions
It’s the same people who banned my ancestors culture
The culture that saw wai not as something to be disposed of
But as something that should be preserved and mālamaʻd, cherished, loved
Mālama I Ka Wai ;Protect our water
Not over-kill her inhabitants, her keiki, to the point they go extinct
Ola i ka wai; Water is life
Why did people take our ʻāina, our wai, and our language from us
Why are we polluting our oceans and the waters that give us life
Why are we trashing the very waters that have led our ancestors to new discoveries
The water that led my parents together
The water where my grandma and her best friends promised to meet again after they leave this beautiful life.
Why are we ruining our beautiful world
What will our keiki do when they can’t swim in the waters that have given their people life for decades
Funds raised from sales of Colossus:Current will support Wholly H2O, a San Francisco bay area nonprofit that offers educational activities that inspire environmental stewardship by forging personal connections with local watersheds.