Edward Lee
The Burden of Pain
It was after the priest gave you last rites
for the third time
that you decided to let go
and shed all that you were.
On strange mornings,
when I am slow to rise,
I sometimes think
that maybe
it wasn’t the pain, the illness
that stole you,
but the embarrassment across that young priest’s face
as he repeated words
we all knew
by heart.
The Burden of Pain
It was after the priest gave you last rites
for the third time
that you decided to let go
and shed all that you were.
On strange mornings,
when I am slow to rise,
I sometimes think
that maybe
it wasn’t the pain, the illness
that stole you,
but the embarrassment across that young priest’s face
as he repeated words
we all knew
by heart.
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 and Smiths Knoll. He is currently working on two photography collections: 'Lying Down With The Dead' and 'There Is A Beauty In Broken Things'. He also makes musical noise under the names Ayahuasca Collective, Lewis Milne, Orson Carroll, Blinded Architect, Lego Figures Fighting, and Pale Blond Boy.
His blog/website can be found at https://edwardmlee.wordpress.com