Category Archives: Writing

Letter from Insomnia

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Posting this in response to Jeff Schwaner’s Full Moon Social. No time to write a new one, so I hope this oldie will do.

Letter from Insomnia

Accepting Li Po’s tragedy,
apocryphal or not,

we embrace her imperfect
reflection
rippling in the breeze,

but manage to surface.

I once thought I would name a child Luna
and she would glow at night

and like Hendrix, kiss the sky.
But that was whimsy

and only candles light this room
at this hour
on this particular day
in this year of the snake.

And what fool would reach for a stone orbiting at
1,023 meters per second?

There are clouds to consider, the stars
and the scattering rain

and of course wine
and the possibilities within each glass
and the drops therein.
We must discuss these matters

under her gaze, where smallness gathers.

This originally appeared in Middle Gray in October, 2013. It was written in response to a poem my friend Michael sent me, replying to this poem.

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This is Not Just to Say

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This is Not Just to Say

Okay. I ate the damned
plums. But it’s not my

fault you left them
sitting there on the top

shelf, so sweet, so cold,
enticing me, as only

you, or perhaps a ripe
peach, or strawberries,

or Asian pears or even
pomegranates, can do.

Besides, you need
something substantial

for breakfast. How about
donuts, or bacon, instead?

My apologies to WCW, but I couldn’t resist. You can find the original Williams poem here.

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Flowers

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Flowers

How they share our
desires, shape
our days.

Passion to hope,
fingertips to
lips. Some bud

easily, others
struggle. A little
water, light, a kind

voice. Sometimes so
little achieves
so much. Yesterday’s

sunflower droops on
the sill. Today’s promise
arrives with rain.

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Earth

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puddle

Earth

Tremor and 
stone

beset upon the calm.

Now water
lines the road’s

bed, and we see
no means to pass.

Even so
you break what falls.

This first appeared in Ijagun Poetry Journal in December 2013, and is also included in my micro-chapbook, You Break What Falls, available (free of charge) for download from the Origami Poems Project: http://www.origamipoems.com/poets/236-robert-okaji


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What Edges Hold

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TorilCave

What Edges Hold

By which I mean those lines framed in certainty: the demarcation of sunlight and shadow. Kami signifies not spirit, but rather that force above man.

Never religion, but life itself: the mountains, trees, the rocks. Lightning.

Or waves, thundering off the coast, lured by the moon.

Stirring the water with a spear, Izanagi dripped an island into being.
Separate the ordinary through limitation, by practice, by ritual and space.

Another night in the twisted trees. The god-shelf.

Recognize that wind respects no borders.

Knowing that to the east questions may respond to answers I have long
suspected, I look elsewhere. After the vowel, the consonant. 

Though torii differ in style, each retains two posts and a crosspiece.

After the consonant, the winnowed tunnel, extinguished light.

At the gate, bow respectfully, then enter. Ladle water from right to left, 
then left to right. Pour it into your left hand, then cleanse your mouth.

Invert and regard the precipice.

I have placed one foot in their sphere. The other still searches.

This originally appeared in April 2014 as part of Boston Review‘s National Poetry Month Celebration.

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3 Poems in Shadowtrain

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shadowtrain

I have three poems appearing in the latest (and evidently the last) issue of Shadowtrain. Many thanks to editor Ian Seed, for allowing these to hop aboard.

 

Day Thirty-one, Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (last day!)

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Rattlesnake sign

“Synapses and Other Conjunctions” is my 31st and final offering for the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (9 poets agreed to write 30 poems apiece in 30 days, to raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary publisher). Many thanks to Luanne Castle, who sponsored and provided the title. Since the 30-30 marathon officially ended yesterday, this poem will appear only on this site, and not on the 30-30 site.

Even though my participation in the 30-30 project ends today, please feel free to contribute to Tupelo Press! Every bit helps (even a dollar or two), and I’ve some other sponsorship opportunities, with corresponding incentives, listed here, which I will continue to honor over the next month.

If you’re so inclined, please visit the 30/30 blog at: Donate to Tupelo. Scroll down to “Is this donation in honor of a 30/30 poet?” and select my name, “Robert Okaji,” from the pull down so that Tupelo knows to credit the donation to me. And please let me know so that I may send a thank you and incentive gift your way.

Thank you for your support over the past month. I promise I won’t bombard you with fund raising solicitations anytime in the near future!

Now here’s the poem:

Synapses and Other Conjunctions

My advice? Wear boots, even among the dead.
Our barefoot friend, having separated the rattler’s
head from its body, picked up the six-foot
length to show off, and stepped back onto

***

Day Thirty, Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (last day, sort of)

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imbricated

“Pinecone on a Pedestal, Open Poet” is among the Day Thirty offerings of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (9 poets have agreed to write 30 poems apiece in 30 days, to raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary publisher). Many thanks to Ken G. / rivrlogr who sponsored and provided the title.

Pinecone on a Pedestal, Open Poet

Look deeper. Within that grain, a mineral,
inside that word, a book
folding into itself,
leaf by leaf…

To read the rest of the poem, click here.

Even though today is the last official day of my participation in the 30-30 project, please feel free to contribute to Tupelo Press! Every bit helps (even a dollar or two), and I’ve some other sponsorship opportunities, with corresponding incentives, listed here, which I will continue to honor over the next month.

If you’re so inclined, please visit the 30/30 blog at: Donate to Tupelo. Scroll down to “Is this donation in honor of a 30/30 poet?” and select my name, “Robert Okaji,” from the pull down so that Tupelo knows to credit the donation to me. And please let me know so that I may send a thank you and incentive gift your way.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Luanne Castle, I have one final, sponsored title, “Synapses and Other Conjunctions,” which I’ll post here tomorrow.

Thank you for your support! Only one more day to go (again)!

Day Twenty-nine, Tupelo Press 30/30 Project

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tracks

“Hunger is Hunger” is among the Day Twenty-nine offerings of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (9 poets have agreed to write 30 poems apiece in 30 days, to raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary publisher). Many thanks to the 1874: First Impressionist Exhibition blog who sponsored and provided the title.

Hunger is Hunger

Somewhere we jumped the tracks,
he said, wiping himself clean with my

blouse. But this life’s all you got…

To see the rest of the poem, click here

Even though no more title sponsorships remain, please feel free to contribute to Tupelo Press! Every bit helps (even a dollar or two), and I’ve some other sponsorship opportunities, with corresponding incentives, listed here.

If you’re so inclined, please visit the 30/30 blog at: Donate to Tupelo. Scroll down to “Is this donation in honor of a 30/30 poet?” and select my name, “Robert Okaji,” from the pull down so that Tupelo knows to credit the donation to me. And please let me know so that I may send a thank you and incentive gift your way.

Tomorrow’s poem is titled “Pinecone on a Pedestal, Open Poet,” thanks to the kindness and generosity of Ken G. / rivrvlogr.

Thank you for your support! Only one more day to go!

Day Twenty-eight, Tupelo Press 30/30 Project

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Nawlins

Tupelo Press still has a few openings for September’s 30-30 challenge. Leave a comment or email me for contact info. It’s well worth doing.

“With Summer Purpled Awe” is among the Day Twenty-eight offerings of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (9 poets have agreed to write 30 poems apiece in 30 days, to raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary publisher). Many thanks to Charlotte Hamrick who sponsored and provided the title.

With Summer Purpled Awe

1
No one wants to be forgotten
or remembered for the wrong reasons,
but how do we attain that sweet spot
between regrettable and a barred…

To see the rest of the poem, click here

Even though no more title sponsorships remain, please feel free to contribute to Tupelo Press! Every bit helps (even a dollar or two), and I’ve some other sponsorship opportunities, with corresponding incentives, listed here.

If you’re so inclined, please visit the 30/30 blog at: Donate to Tupelo. Scroll down to “Is this donation in honor of a 30/30 poet?” and select my name, “Robert Okaji,” from the pull down so that Tupelo knows to credit the donation to me. And please let me know so that I may send a thank you and incentive gift your way.

Tomorrow’s poem is titled “Hunger is Hunger,” thanks to the kindness and generosity of the 1874: First Impressionist Exhibition blog.

Thank you for your support! Only 2 poems to go!