Every Wind
Every wind loses itself,
no matter where
it starts. I want
a little piece of you.
No.
I want your atmosphere
bundled in a small rice paper packet
and labeled with strings of new rain
and stepping stones.
I want
the grace of silence
blowing in through the cracked
window, disturbing only
the shadows.
Everywhere I go, bits of me linger,
searching for you.
Grief ages one thread at a time,
lurking like an odor
among the lost
things,
or your breath,
still out there,
drifting.
* * *
Music: “Gymnopedie No. 1” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
“Every Wind” first appeared in The Lake in July 2016, and is included in my chapbook, From Every Moment a Second, available for order via Amazon.com and Finishing Line Press.
O at the Edges 
This piece is so moving, Robert. Wonderful!
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Thanks very much, V.J.
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You are welcome, Robert!
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There’s something simultaneously poignant, poised, and deliberate about your juxtaposition of “I want” with “Grief ages one thread at a time” in this piece. It’s authenticity and simple complexity astound!
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Sometimes that delicate balance between wanting and knowing can be excruciating and ultimately liberating. But it takes a while.
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This is so beautiful, so moving. I have reblogged it because I think it will strike a chord with many others. Thank you.
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Thanks very much, Carmel. I’m so pleased it resonated for you.
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Reblogged this on Carmel Bendon – author and commented:
Not medieval, just something beautiful from poet Robert Okaji that I thought some of you might like.
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