Restaurant of Dreams
by Robert Okaji
If only I could cook a single meal for you,
and share a cava bottle's pop to a bubbling
joy, or perhaps merely hold open the door
as you exit one gentle narrative
to enter another, in which I could stroke
the fine hairs on your neck with impunity,
and the pressure in my chest whenever
I read your words would forever
release, dissipating into a smile
somewhere near the smoky horizon.
The root of loneliness is one,
one is half of two, and two is more
than I can bear to count. Last night's
goodnight text pulled me from a dream
and left me in an unfinished poem
which is now complete. How such
transmutations occur eludes me,
but yes, they offer hope and a glimpse
at the menu – the appetizers, the courses,
the philosophies and even the pairings –
which details all the possibilities, the
hopes, the prices we inevitably pay.
and share a cava bottle's pop to a bubbling
joy, or perhaps merely hold open the door
as you exit one gentle narrative
to enter another, in which I could stroke
the fine hairs on your neck with impunity,
and the pressure in my chest whenever
I read your words would forever
release, dissipating into a smile
somewhere near the smoky horizon.
The root of loneliness is one,
one is half of two, and two is more
than I can bear to count. Last night's
goodnight text pulled me from a dream
and left me in an unfinished poem
which is now complete. How such
transmutations occur eludes me,
but yes, they offer hope and a glimpse
at the menu – the appetizers, the courses,
the philosophies and even the pairings –
which details all the possibilities, the
hopes, the prices we inevitably pay.
Robert Okaji holds a BA in history, served without distinction in the U.S. Navy, toiled as a university administrator, and no longer owns a bookstore. Sixteen months ago he was diagnosed with late stage metastatic lung cancer. He lives, for the time being, in Indianapolis with his wife—poet Stephanie L. Harper— stepson, and cat. His seventh chapbook, In the Garden of Wind's Delight, will be published (not posthumously, he hopes) by Illuminated Press in fall 2024, followed by the publication of first full-length collection, Our Loveliest Bruises, by 3: A Taos Press. His poems may be found in Book of Matches, Threepenny Review, Only Poems, Vox Populi, Evergreen Review, Boston Review, Verse Daily, The Big Windows Review, The Night Heron Barks, Indianapolis Review, and other venues.