Song of the Exile

so

i just reread a book i really love

Song of the Exile

and i have to quote a passage from the book. that resonated with the sound of gongs.

malia and pono are not the main characters of the novel, but important none-the-less

malia is a native hawaiian woman with too much pride. with a lot of ambition. who loves and has loved for years but due to her pride has not allowed him to know her or his child.

pono is what is known as a "kahuna". a seer.

malia has finally allowed the father of her child to know the child is his when the daughter is in her teens but still won't admit to her weaknesses or love or fears.

i won't explain anything else because the rest would need an explanation of the entire book. anyway. enough babble. the passage now:

She touched Malia's hair, touched her cheek. She had never been this patient with another woman, except her friend and guardian, little Run Run.

"Look at your life, Malia. It is empty. Pride keeps passion locked in the closet of your midnights"

"But, what has this to do with Sunny Sung?"

"In your youth, you shunned her. She would have been a precious friend."

"But I have swallowed pride. I have even given my daughter her father."

"You have half given. You hold yourself back from the father. And so, you will tear what binds you."

Pono rose to her full height. "I tell you now. Take your pride and swallow. Ingest it! and excrete. Take the ribs you cherish. Polish them with oils of determination. Ask him to forgive you. If you push this man away, you will lose father and daughter for all time. And I myself will damn you."

Malia shook her head. "I can't. He humiliated me."

"Woman, you have lived! Did you think you could get through life with only scratches? That is not living. It's hiding."

"Then I'll hide. I don't trust love. You open up to someone, and they kill you."

"Listen now. Every decision we make - to love, or not to love - is a death. Love doesn't kill or neuter. We do. We think too much. Talk too much. Feel, Malia, feel. We're women of blasphemy and recklessness. Life makes us pay. So, you have paid. Now, pick your life up, piece by piece. Remember what I taught you. Look for matching patterns, connect the seams. Brilliant designs will emerge."

Song of the Exile - Kiana Davenport

starting at "listen now" is the passage that hit me in the gut the most.

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