Wanda’s Reply
by Michael Sun
But what is grief if not love persevering?
So is it love when I’m shitting on the toilet?
Or when brushing my teeth alone, on my side of the sink?
Or when I’m in bed and not sleeping, can that be love?
And if so, then what about when the sun is out,
and the sky is the bluest it’s been,
or I’m at work and working and busy and I don’t grieve you,
do I not love you then? Are you saying I don’t love you?
I’m sorry that wasn’t fair, but you’re dead now.
Today, I want to feel sad and pitied. I feel
neither loving nor lovely. But love perseveres—
the other day, I saw my brother in a stranger’s face.
I was so happy to keep him I would have killed him
— no one stays but me.
Michael Sun (he/him) is a Korean American poet from the suburbs of Chicago. His poems appear or are forthcoming in Honey Literary, HAD, and Moist Poetry. He is a medical student at the University of Chicago and tweets with @theprodigal_sun.