In That Pause

You leave, and the oxygen
follows. I hold my breath
until your return, like
a wave pausing in mid-
curl. And like this wave,
you bear a specific weight.
I inhale your fragrance
and drift off. In the day
outside rain collects
in small pools. I have
watched the sun paint
the morning sky. I've
seen you smile in sleep.

Robert Okaji is a half-Japanese Texan living in Indiana. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Night Heron Barks, So It Goes, Indianapolis Review, Taos Journal of International Poetry & Art, and elsewhere. His blog, O at the Edges, can be found at robertokaji.com.