Thursday, October 16, 2025

The Shakuhachi Knows by Robert Okaji

 

Image / Patrick Jadulco Tillada

The Shakuhachi Knows


Silence pours through itself

and huddles against the light. 

Unsure, I exhale and a tongue 

of air flickers through  

the openings, bearing questions 

whose answers I cannot shape 

into words. Who stands there 

singing? What is the color 

of love or a shadow's weight? 

When will this begin to end?


Originally published in Midwest Zen and included in Okaji's first full-length collection, Our Loveliest Bruises (3: A Taos Press, 2025).


© Robert Okaji


Robert Okaji

Two years ago, Robert Okaji was diagnosed with late-stage metastatic lung cancer, which he found annoying. But thanks to modern science, he's still living in Indianapolis with his wife—poet Stephanie L. Harper—stepson, cat, and dog. Recent publications include Our Loveliest Bruises (3: A Taos Press, 2025) and His Windblown Self (Broadstone Books, 2025).










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