night falls quite suddenly
over war in other countries,
while the morning is fine
here and biteable, clean
as new coins. a young man,
with control for his shift
of a remote operation
security gate,
fiddles the buttons
at a private estate
entrance just on
the outside of
blackrock. another man
driving a truck
with Panda Waste Disposal Co
stamped on the cargo
grows impatient and waits
for a load of recycling.
sunrise and building-
cast shadows paint lines
on his jaw like a bicoloured tulip.
— DS MAOLALAI
DS Maolalai, based in Dublin, has been described by one editor as “a cosmopolitan poet” and another as “prolific, bordering on incontinent.” His work has nominated twelve times for Best of the Net, ten for the Pushcart and once for the Forward Prize, and has been released in three collections.