Hawai'i Pacific Review

Living on the edge of the Pacific Ocean is an extraordinary experience. But I've found it's one thing to visit paradise; it's another to live in it. And a majestic setting, while soothing, does not erase the burdens you bring to it.

I'm heartened the editors at Hawai'i Pacific Review understand this paradox, and I'm honored to have a poem included in the latest issue, Volume 25.

The Ocean Will Not Inspire

It's not enough
to live in beauty

surrounded by
sweet pea clusters
along every edge

It’s not enough
to hike a forest
lit with sun

to know mossy days
textured with season
and cheer

If winter
burrows inside

If you make it a home
in your heart
no ocean can
quench

nothing will
inspire or awe

You will
freeze
numb and blind
to the miles
of wild daisies

outside your door

- Drew Myron