Armand Schwerner
The Woman Who Married A Caterpillar
Kumuhea the night-caterpillar loves the woman
with his daylight man-body takes her for wife, handsome
man huge caterpillar, at night
gorges on sweet-potato leaves
Kumuhea huge night-caterpillar
bloated back home mornings
soft Kumuhea flabby Kumuhea, through
him shiftless the wife starves
Where does he go nights, her father says, Where
does he go nights, says the hemp string
his wife fastens to track him where he goes nights;
after him through brush on his crawl
the long string snarls, the night-
caterpillar is strong with anger, tears
into leaves all around
the people cry Kane help us
night-caterpillar kills our food, do him in
in his hill-cave home, he
kills our food
merciful Kane slices him to bits
we now call cut-worm cut-worm cut-worm
from Hawaiian Stories and Wise Sayings,
Vassar college fieldwork in Folklore, Publication of the
Folklore Foundation, Poughkeepsie: 1923
Page(s) 148-9
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