"Doomed to Repeat" by Edward Lee
Xiadi Zhai | Saturday Between Cities
& so i’ve been loosed
into a shy ceasefire, into
our rocking commute by
high-speed rail, across
from you, sandwiching this
sanitized atmosphere. your irises
are so light they roll trans-
lucent. outside,
white-lined branches whip
past into a smeared palette
of pigment. geese in their brigades,
flapping unevenly as if just roused
from sedation, buoyant like
balloons in a grocery store
parking lot, tied to a toddler’s
unsnapped wrist. i should sleep
while i can & yet each time i try,
my blinks click into negatives
of you, pinned up onto sheer,
pink inner eyelid, you lounging with
legs crossed & one foot dangled.
what else is there to do. the acoustics
are so clean in this train car. you must
have noticed it, too.
into a shy ceasefire, into
our rocking commute by
high-speed rail, across
from you, sandwiching this
sanitized atmosphere. your irises
are so light they roll trans-
lucent. outside,
white-lined branches whip
past into a smeared palette
of pigment. geese in their brigades,
flapping unevenly as if just roused
from sedation, buoyant like
balloons in a grocery store
parking lot, tied to a toddler’s
unsnapped wrist. i should sleep
while i can & yet each time i try,
my blinks click into negatives
of you, pinned up onto sheer,
pink inner eyelid, you lounging with
legs crossed & one foot dangled.
what else is there to do. the acoustics
are so clean in this train car. you must
have noticed it, too.
Xiadi Zhai is from Boston, Massachusetts. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she has recent or forthcoming work in Bennington Review, DIALOGIST, F(r)iction, MudRoom, and Quarterly West, among others.
Edward Lee is an artist and photographer from Ireland. His paintings and photography have been exhibited and published widely, with many pieces in private collections. His website can be found at https://lastimagesphotography.com
Instagram: @edwardleeart
Instagram: @edwardleeart
