Frances H. Kakugawa
Hawai‘i Herald Columnist
Omoiyari . . . Think of others first and good karma will return to you. — Frances H. Kakugawa
Dear Readers,
I am in Hawai‘i as you read this, so I will respond to your questions when I return to Sacramento. In the meantime, enjoy these poems that I selected for their humor.
I hear a lot of laughter when I give keynote addresses at conferences, so I want to share some of the sources of that laughter with you.
This poem often results in women — and men — buying red feather boas to remind them that glamour and elegance can still be a part of caregiving.
A FEATHER BOA AND A TOOTHBRUSH
It is 3 a.m.
I am on my hands and knees
With toothbrush in one hand,
A glass of hot tap water in my other,
Scrubbing BM off my mother’s
Bathroom floor.
Before a flicker of self pity can set in,
A vivid image enters my mind.
An image of a scarlet feather boa
Impulsively bought from Neiman Marcus,
Delicately wrapped in white tissue
Awaiting in my cedar chest
For some enchanted evening.
The contrast between my illusional lifestyle
Of feather boas, Opium perfume and black
velvet
And my own reality of toothbrushes,
Bathroom tiles and BM at 3 a.m.
Overwhelms me with silent laughter.
— Frances H. Kakugawa
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