Ally Ang
Postoperative Care
My mother dozes open-mouthed in a hospital bed
while I grind my teeth at her bedside.
Contorted in pain even as she sleeps,
her face is a mirror of my own.
I grind my teeth at her bedside,
swallowing my desire to turn away
from her face, a mirror of my own:
thin-skinned, sun-touched, love-swollen.
I swallow my desire to turn away
when I see my reflection in the hospital bed.
Thin-skinned, sun-touched, love-swollen—
she is small in the sea of blankets.
When I see my reflection in the hospital bed,
I remember where I came from.
Once, I was small in a sea of blankets
while she cradled me through sleepless nights.
I can never forget where I come from:
a love capable of reimagining the world.
Once, she held me close on sleepless nights.
Now, I hold her hand as she sleeps
open-mouthed in a hospital bed.
Ally Ang reads “Postoperative Care”
Ally Ang is a gaysian poet & editor based in Seattle. Their work has appeared in The Rumpus, Muzzle Magazine, Poets.org, and elsewhere. Ally is a National Endowment for the Arts fellow and MacDowell fellow. Their debut poetry collection, Let the Moon Wobble, is out from Alice James Books in November 2025. They co-host Other People’s Poems, a poetry open mic and reading series in Seattle. Find them at allysonang.com or @TheOceanIsGay.