“Shō Yamagushiku’s manuscript, ’shima,’ is an impressive collection with language that is by turns accessible and evasive, lucid and obscure. It hones a vivid, image-driven sensibility as it elaborates abstract considerations on being and belonging. Yamagushiku’s poems arc through time and languages and cross continents to ride the sweep of the Okinawan diaspora, carrying a narrative that is personal, familial, and historical. Yet, for all the attention to places and figures, prosaic concerns never slow the work’s momentum. As he explores desire, memory, and sexuality, Yamagushiku navigates cool formality, raw tension, and lyric yearning.”