Buddha may not be talking, but Robert Okaji is—obliquely illuminating personal truths that bounce from the odd angles of his poems. Be prepared to learn a thing or two, such as that a hagfish has multiple hearts, or the Chinese astronomer Gan De glimpsed Jupiter's Ganymede a millenium before Galileo. From an existentially anxious Kermit plucking his banjo to a surreal baby stroller filled with melons in bonnets, Okaji suggests the strange joys of unknowing. In "How To Do Nothing" he reminds us to "eliminate all thought but remember the water...don't ignore the whistling. You must steep the tea."

                                                —Barry Harris, Editor
Tipton Poetry Journal