Today’s featured mele, composed for E.D Henriques by Lucy Peabody, expresses the deep love a parent feels for their child. Miss Peabody is best known for serving as a lady-in-waiting for Queen Emma and for her role in resurrecting the ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu in 1906.

(Mele translation by Mary Kawena Pukui)

Hanohano Kapulani i ka ulu hala … Majestic Kapulani, standing in the hala grove

I ka hale ʻanini peʻa lau niu … The house with awnings of thatched coconut matting

ʻO ka pā kolonahe a ke Kēhau … The Kēhau breeze gently blows

Kō ana ke ʻala aʻo ka hīnano … Bearing hither the fragrance of hala blossoms

E mapu ke ʻala i kuʻu poli … The fragrance lingers on my bosom

E moani i ka wai kuʻi a kekela … The wind-borne perfume from the water of Kekela

Ia wai kaulana kau i ka laʻi … That famed pool standing in the calm

A e ʻona ʻia nei e ka malihini … Water that always delights the visitors

ʻO ke ani peʻahi a ka lau niu … The coconut leaves beckon and sway

I ke aka lawe mālie a ka ʻEka … In the gentle wafting of the ʻEka breeze

Ka makani kolonahe pā ahiahi … The refreshing breeze that blows in the evening

Hone ana i ke kai malino a Ehu … Whistling softly to the calm sea of Ehu

Aia i ka maka lā o ka ʻōpua … Up there are the horizon clouds

ʻO ka lihilihi wai ānuenue … Edged with the colors of the rainbow

Ke nihi aʻela i Hāliʻilua … They move now to spread forth

Noenoe i ka ua o Alanapo … Dusk in the upland of Alanapo

Ola i ke kini ka uka o Kona … Thus helping the people in the upland of Kona

I ka ua loku i ka lau lāʻau … With the rain that pours on the leaves

Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana … This is the end of my chant of praise,

ʻO Kalanikiʻekiʻe kuʻu lei ia … For Kalanikiʻekiʻe, my beloved child.