Chemotherapy
He stops, the razor
halfway down
his foamed cheek,
and wonders why
he's bothering
with this submission to appearance.
He finds his answer silently,
and finishes his shave,
the razor continuing to his skull,
taking the hair
that remains there,
smiling to himself
at this small victory.
The bloodless wounds of love
In my dreams
we fight, pointed tooth
and curled claw.
We fight like we never fight
during waking hours,
timid and gentle
to each other
when we can look into
each other's eyes.
We fight in your dreams too.
your tight jaw
and clenched fists
betraying you
as you sleep.
Across the distance of slumber
we rage against
each other, our smiles
the next morning
fooling no one
but ourselves,
our years together slowly becoming more
than our years apart.
Nightmares born from a day of dying
In my dreams
I fight with shadows,
waking with bruises
the size of my fists
covering stretches of skin
that have not been touched
by another’s hand
for years, the taste of blood
tight on my swollen tongue.
Edward Lee’s poetry, short stories, non-fiction and photography have been published in magazines in Ireland, England and America, including The Stinging Fly, Skylight 47, Acumen, The Blue Nib and Poetry Wales. His play ‘Wall’ was part of Druid Theatre’s Druid Debuts 2020. His debut poetry collection “Playing Poohsticks On Ha’Penny Bridge” was published in 2010. He is currently working towards a second collection. He also makes musical noise under the names Ayahuasca Collective, Orson Carroll, Lego Figures Fighting, and Pale Blond Boy. His blog/website can be found at www.edwardmlee.wordpress.com
Flight of the dragonfly 