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.  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, Lewis Milne, Orson Carroll, Blinded Architect, Lego Figures Fighting, and Pale Blond Boy.
His blog/website can be found at https://edwardmlee.wordpress.com

FOR THE SAKE OF

Let the night
take me, suddenly,
unexpectedly, tonight
or fifty years
from now, so
I need never see the grief
of my loved ones
as they watch me collapse
into broken shadows
in some bright hospital bed,
the remainder of my life
rubber stamped in months
by some doctor finding a lump
or a mole, or a discrepancy in my thickening blood,
or one of the hundreds of ways
a life can turn on itself.
 
Simply put, let me go
without anyone knowing
I am going, especially myself,
yes, especially myself,
comfortable in the near-universal deception
that I will live one day longer
than forever.