Expression.
streets all sunburned; empty
as shaved heads.
trams, pulling
things about, buses
wearing lines
in the streets
like the crease of an exaggerated
expression, like tattoos
and the occasional
scratch. dust bursts up,
layers and collapses. no longer
worn down by footfall, life
comes. drinking wine
I watch it
from my window. the ease of cities
in their sleep, the spiders
going into their mouths.
streets all sunburned; empty
as shaved heads.
trams, pulling
things about, buses
wearing lines
in the streets
like the crease of an exaggerated
expression, like tattoos
and the occasional
scratch. dust bursts up,
layers and collapses. no longer
worn down by footfall, life
comes. drinking wine
I watch it
from my window. the ease of cities
in their sleep, the spiders
going into their mouths.
DS Maolalai has been nominated four times for Best of the Net and three times for the Pushcart Prize. His poetry has been released in two collections, "Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden" (Encircle Press, 2016) and "Sad Havoc Among the Birds" (Turas Press, 2019).