M Lee
M Lee received his MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. He has published several chapbooks, and his first full-length book of poetry was published in 2021 by Accents Publishing. His work has appeared in literary journals such as Ninth Letter, Reed, Rattle, Columbia Journal, Aeolian Harp, and many others.
IF HAIR AND TWENTY NAILS KEEP GROWING
—after Charles Simic
what should I do about Dad?
His defeated lungs. His left big toe
the one with the nail always ingrown
and a bunion sticking out. What if
that toe rots and falls away from his foot?
Will the nail stay ingrown? What if his whole
foot rots? I could not bear the thought
so I set Dad on fire, made him a man
in a box of coarse dust. Took my box
of Dad back to Lewes on Delaware Bay—
he wanted to stay close to the sea.
It was a cold day in April
when I got there rain started to fall
I hurried to drop Dad in the canal
where he used to swim when he
was just a kid but I miscalculated
the tide came in not out. Dad floated
the wrong way. Never made it out to sea
and that is all
I am left with.
©2021 West Trade Review
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