O at the Edges

Musings on poetry, language, perception, numbers, food, and anything else that slips through the cracks.

Poem in Brave Voices

Posted on May 4, 2019 by robert okaji

My poem “The Gift” was published in Brave Voices in January 2019. I somehow missed it…

Many thanks to Audrey Bowers and her editorial staff for taking this piece.

15 thoughts on “Poem in Brave Voices”

Lynne Burnett on May 3, 2019 at 7:20 am said:

Stunning line – “the dead blossom / in children’s voices”! Congrats, Bob!

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- robert okaji on May 3, 2019 at 9:48 am said:
  
  Thanks, Lynne. I don’t know how I missed this! Ah, the feeble mind…
  
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  - Lynne Burnett on May 3, 2019 at 9:53 am said:
    
    Not so feeble LOL – just busy with 101 other things!
    
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    - robert okaji on May 3, 2019 at 9:55 am said:
      
      Ha! I’ll go with your explanation. 🙂
      
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Andrew McDowell on May 3, 2019 at 9:24 am said:

Congrats!

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- robert okaji on May 3, 2019 at 9:48 am said:
  
  Thank you, Andrew.
  
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  - Andrew McDowell on May 3, 2019 at 10:48 am said:
    
    You’re welcome.
    
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rivrvlogr on May 3, 2019 at 9:52 am said:

Good news, Bob. Congratulations.

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- robert okaji on May 3, 2019 at 9:56 am said:
  
  Thanks, Ken. I’m glad I finally noticed it!
  
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stephanielharper on May 3, 2019 at 12:33 pm said:

This line grabs me and I can’t help but read in my own connotation: “Swallow these pills.”

Did you know that Gift means poison in German?

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- robert okaji on May 3, 2019 at 2:30 pm said:
  
  I didn’t know that. Hmm. That adds a certain flavor to the poem. 🙂
  
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Ashok Misra on May 4, 2019 at 7:59 am said:

Great news, congratulations!

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- robert okaji on May 4, 2019 at 2:55 pm said:
  
  Its always a pleasure! Thank you.
  
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Leigh W. Smith on May 14, 2019 at 7:43 am said:

Disturbing poem, Bob. You don’t (in my mind, anyway) seem to write many of these. Could also be read as a poem for the zeitgeist of the Trump era. Very despairing, but brilliant all the same. Great work, in my humble opinion.

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- robert okaji on May 14, 2019 at 12:40 pm said:
  
  Thank you, Leigh. I seem to be writing more poems in this vein these days. I suppose that personal circumstances combined with the political situation has led me to this.
  
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