by Edward Lee
living with my ghost
it’s been five months since i killed my woman
& now, i’ve gotten used to her living again—
her ghost. she sits with me at breakfast time &
spits into my coffee; she watches me undress
& trip into my shower; she laughs when i scald
myself older in the puckering water: i’m used
to her misery. but, i wish she would go away,
for good; she’ll revive herself one day, i know
it, & when that day comes, i’ll be drowning in
myself. i’ve forgotten how to be a woman & the
day she lives again (for real, flesh & bones &
scars & sagging hips), i’ll be swallowed in her
motherhood & lack of tampons.
Carina Solis is a fifteen-year-old writer living in Georgia. Her work is published or forthcoming in the Eunoia Review, Wrongdoing Mag, Gone Lawn, CLOVES, and elsewhere. Find her at carinasolis.carrd.co, on Twitter @CarinaS74562803, or binge-watching movies. At 1:00 AM. On school nights.
Edward Lee is an artist and writer from Ireland. His paintings and photography have been exhibited widely, while his poetry, short stories, non-fiction have been published in magazines in Ireland, England and America, including The Stinging Fly, Skylight 47, Acumen, Feral, The Blue Nib and Poetry Wales. 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, Orson Carroll, Lego Figures Fighting, and Pale Blond Boy. His blog/website can be found at https://edwardmlee.wordpress.com