Robert Okaji reads “Moon Cows” from Shō No. 4.
“When I was a toddler, I was often ill. My parents had to take me to the ER frequently late at night, and to soothe me, they’d say we were going to see the baby cows. When I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, I said to myself “Looks like we’re going to see the baby cows a lot.”
— Robert Okaji
Robert Okaji served without distinction in the U.S. Navy, and once owned a bookstore. He has been diagnosed with late stage metastatic lung cancer, and lives, for the time being, in Indiana with his wife—poet Stephanie L. Harper—stepson, and cat. His first full-length collection, Our Loveliest Bruises, was published by 3: A Taos Press in fall 2024, and his poetry may be found in Only Poems, Indianapolis Review, Verse Daily, Broadkill Review, Vox Populi, Book of Matches, Shō Poetry Journal, and at his blog, O at the Edges.
