Mother
I do not give you enough credit
for the strength it must have taken
to turn your back on all you knew
to live a life with a man
wed to another,
knowing you could never marry him,
divorce an illegal
and dirty word
in a country decades away from change,
and yet spending forty years
with him,
holding his hand
when his last breath
entered the world,
your two sons to hold you up
at the funeral
when all you wanted was to fall down
beside your love
and never get up again.
Edward Lee‘s poetry, short stories, non-fiction and photography have been published in magazines in Ireland, England and America, including The Stinging Fly, Acumen and Smiths Knoll. His debut poetry collection Playing Poohsticks On Ha’Penny Bridge was published in 2010. He is currently working towards a second collection.