If you lower the blinds, you’ll see what x-rays
cannot. If you crack your knuckles, the stomach’s
quivering will subside. If you sweep your mind
of all debris, you will assume a Buddhist
phenomenon. If you don’t pick up the phone,
your cells won’t rebel. If you admit defeat,
the blue ribbon is yours. If you scratch that itch,
sleep will touch down. If you press this button now,
you will return to that concise space before
coughs, before the lost voice, before cancer drilled
through your bones, before everything collapsed. If…
Robert Okaji lives in Indianapolis. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in such publications as Vox Populi, The Threepenny Review, Evergreen Review, Southern Humanities Review, and North Dakota Quarterly.