The Flower of Hawaiʻi

Metrosideros polymorpha

Comes in Orange, yellow, and most commonly red

Grows in the uplands of the Hawaiian islands

Used frequently in traditional island life

It is the first plant that burrows down into the earth

Its root goes down into poisonous caverns

Sucks up the gasses left by magma

And burrows it's roots deep within

When it grows it grows so tall

And becomes the only one who can cheat its way

The first to take, the first to rise

Rise to the top

Metrosideros doesn’t stop to look around

It doesn't notice its neighbors

It continues up and up as tall as can be

While poor little Microlepia strigose

With its wilted sickly green leaves

Struggles to eat, struggles to breathe

But Metrosideros doesn’t stop there

Its the first to reach the top, and stands alone

It looks out into the world below

ʻŌhiʻa Lehua

Comes in Orange, yellow, and most commonly red

Grows in the uplands of the Hawaiian islands

Used frequently in traditional island life

It is the first plant that burrows down into the earth

Its root goes down into poisonous caverns

Sucks up the gasses left by magma

And becomes the mother to new plants

She breaks down jagged stone

To save her children who have yet to grow

The first to take, the first to give

The first to raise the others from the dead

ʻŌhiʻa stops to look around

And notices her children struggling

Grows taller to bring rain

And feeds her kids all the same

She sees Palapalai hungry for more

she nurtures their leaves and waters their roots

Now it can eat, now it can breathe

But ʻŌhiʻa doesn’t stop there

She's first to the top, bringing bird friends along

And when she blooms, she feeds them too

Two names this plant has, but only one brings life to the land