Shaffer is a 2002 recipient of the Elliot Cades Award for Literature. He lives on the sunset slope of Haleakala on Maui, teaches writing and is studying the Hawaiian language. "Maybe in 20 years, I'll try writing poems ma ka 'olelo Hawai'i, but I've been studying only for a few years. Nui ke kai, li'ili'i ka hoe (Big the sea, small the paddle)."

'Lahaina Noon'

By Eric Paul Shaffer

Today, I'm a shadowless man.
The sun calls me into the street,
and I walk alone into the light
of noon. The moment has come.

I stand quietly on Front Street
balancing the sun on my head.
My shadow crawls in my ear
to hide in the small, dark world

of my skull. The sun illuminates
the shadow in my skin, and I shine
like a second moon, reflecting|
all the light I cannot contain.