Issue #29

Edward Lee

Exist

Before the tree grew
I hid myself
in its beginning,
spread my arms crucifixion-wide,
and waited
to be engulfed
in its hard, dry bark,
my being finally alive
with the possibility
of touching some future sky.

Comfort

With her teeth
she separates fable
from truth, lies
from legend, myth
from hearsay, her
tongue tasting every word
before swallowing,
storing all the versions she wants
inside her – she excretes the rest –
for when the nights turn cold
and loneliness fills
the moonlit bedroom,
the shadow-filled bed.


Edward Lee’s writing and photography have been published in magazines in Ireland, England and America. His debut poetry collection “Playing Poohsticks On Ha’Penny Bridge” was published in 2010. He is currently working towards a second collection. His blog/website can be found here.