KUU PUA MELIA KE ALOHA
Auhea wale oe e pua Melia,
Pilia ke ala me ke onaona.
Onaona ko maka e leialoha,
Ua pulu i ka wai lohi o Maleka.
Ma ka leta kuu ike ana iho,
Kapalili i ko’u puuwai.
He waiwai paa oe na’u,
Hoa pili mau no kuu kino.
Kuu kino kai alo i ke anu,
Konokono ae a ke aloha.
Me oe ke aloha pili paa,
Me a’u ka iini mau loa.
Noho aku nei au o ke ehuehu,
Noho mai nei oe o ke ehukai.
Kai no ua lawa ko makemake,
Ka uwea umii makeneki.
Nana i umii Lomelane,
Lai ai na pua i ke aniani.
Aniani na hana i ka Nautilo,
Kakia kuinao a ke akamai.
O oe ka oi i ko’u manao,
Kiekie i ka helu ekahi.
Akahi ke aloha e pipii nei,
Ua like me ka wai mapunapuna.
Hookahi a’u mea uluhua,
Ka hauwalaau a na manu.
Mea ole wale no ia leo,
Ke manao ae au ia oe.
O oe kuu lei onaona,
Lei hoohie a o nei kino.
“Haina mai ana ka puana,
Kuu hoa alo kehau anu.”
M. D. M. & L. S. N.
(Kuokoa, 3/26/1887, p. 1)
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XXVI, Helu 13, Aoao 1. Maraki 26, 1887.
This shows that the plumeria was already established in cultivation in Hawaii by 1887. Hawaiians enjoyed new flowers and plants as they were introduced from elsewhere in the world, particularly (I think) if they could be incorporated into lei.