Mele

n. Song, anthem, or chant of any kind; poem, poetry; to sing, chant

Pauoa Stream, Upper Pauoa Valley

Pauoa Hula 

Kāua i ka piʻina
I ka uluwehiwehi o Pauoa,
Nui mai ka ua i ka uka
Pulupē ka ʻili i ke anu

Hiaʻai ke honi aku
I ka ʻawapuhi onaona
E moani mai, i ke aheahe
ʻOhuʻohu ma ke ala hele

Ilihia ke ʻike aku
I ka nani o ka ʻiwaʻiwa
ʻAʻala mai nā kupukupu
Ulu wale me ka ʻieʻie

He aloha wau ia ʻoe
E kuʻu lei liko ka lehua
Maʻane`i mai i neia poli
E mili nanea iho ai

Eia mai ka puana
No ka uluwehiwehi o Pauoa
He manaʻo koʻu e hoʻoheno nei
I ka beauty poinaʻole

Kapio Hale




You and I ascending

The verdent Pauoa valley

In the pouring mountain rain

Drenching the skin in the cold


Delighted when you smell

The sweet scented ginger

So fragrant in the soft breeze

Adorning the trail


Entranced when you see

The beautifuk, delicate maidenhair

Fragrant are the other ferns

Growing profusely with the ʻieʻie


I love you

My precious lei of liko lehua

Come here in my arms

For me to gently caress


Here is the refrain

For the verdant Pauoa valley

My thoughts cherish

Its unforgettable beauty

Small waterfall of Pauoa Stream near Booth Rd.

Pauoa Ka Liko Ka Lehua

Aia i Pauoa ka liko ka lehua

Ka ʻiʻini pau ʻole a ka makemake


Makemake nō wau la e ʻike lihi

*(makemake no au aʻe i ka lihi)

I ka lawe haʻaheo a ke kīkala


Pālua, pākolu i ke kekona

I ka hoʻi ʻākau hoʻi i ka hema


Hemahema ka palena ua lolelole

ʻUa ʻewa ka pilina me ka nihoniho


Nihoniho mai nei ko pelekoki

I ka iho ʻākau hoʻi i ka hema

*(I ka iho makawalu o ka lihilihi)


A he lihi kuleana koʻu i laila

I ka loʻu ʻūmiʻi a ka huapala


He aloha kahi wai o ʻAuwaiolimu

Ia wai lomi lima me kuʻu aloha


Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana

Aia i Pauoa ka liko lehua

Emma Bush



There at Pauoa is the lehua bud
My endless yearning and desire

I'd like to catch even a glimpse
*(Of the proud swaying hips)
Of her figure strutting about

Twice, thrice in a second
Back and forth, right to left

Not fitting right, the border is turned inside out
The toothed edges do not fit perfectly

Your petticoat is scalloped
Swaying to the right and then to the left
*(The inner layers of quantities of lace)

I took a rightful interest there
The sweetheart bent over with a sidepain from walking too fast

Beloved is the stream of ʻAuwaiolimu
The water where hands were fondled with my loved one

Tell the refrain

There at Pauoa is the lehua bud


Pauoa Stream near Booth Rd.

Pauoa Liko Lehua

E ka uʻi mae ʻole

O ka uka ʻiuʻiu

E maliu mai ʻoe

A ʻo wau kou hoa

A e kohukohu ai

Maʻaneʻi mai kāua

A i ʻolu hoʻi au


Hoʻohihi au e ʻike

I ka nani ʻoia pua

A he pua mae ʻole

A he wehi no ka uka

ʻO Pauoa liko lehua

A ʻo kou hoapili

O lei pua rose nani


Aia i laila

Ke koʻiʻi koi a loko

Mao ʻole ka ʻiʻini

I ʻanoʻi au e ʻike

I ke kumu o ke ʻala

A he ʻala onaona

I ka maka o ka ʻōpua


E hōʻike ka puana

No ka lau liko lehua

O ka uka o Pauoa

I lei kāhiko noʻu

No ka ua Kūkalahale

A he lei ua pūia

I ke ʻala me ke aloha

Charles E. King 




O fadeless beauty

Of the distant uplands

Pay attention to me

Let me be your companion

A suitable one for you

Come here to me

And make me glad


I long to see

The beauty of that blossom

The never fading blossom

That adorns the upland

The beautiful lehua bud

The close companion

Of the rose lei


It is there

That the heart longs to be

There the desire that never ends

I long to see

The source of the fragrance

The sweet fragrance

Before the face of the clouds


This ends my praise for

The leaf-bud of the lehua

Of the vale of Pauoa

To be worn by me

In the Kûkalahale rain

A rain imbued with fragrance

And with love