In 1985 The Brothels Bloom

In the first two years of
our marriage our government sends a
shipwreck of men

to Saudi Arabia. They’re all others
I could have eloped with: pissed,

digging their
heels at the dirt for rice
that isn’t there.

Can you imagine
the catastrophe. I have one

letter from you: how you
work yourself
into a pigeon-sick fever.

Once, in 2008, our child
from the backseat
hears of your motorcycle accident.

Abba, you must have been lonely

and we both miss it: the phantom
of waerowohsseo. That absent

ache

Haro Lee studied poetry at Colorado College and now teaches English in South Korea, where she lives with her grandmother. Her work has been published and is forthcoming in RHINO Poetry, Dryland Lit and Epiphany Magazine. She was the recipient of the Breakout 8 Writers Prize. She can be found on Instagram @haroharibo.