D. S. Maolalai

D. S. 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).

Disinfectant

summer is ending. I am cycling
past clontarf on the coast road
after visiting my parents
and hearing how my cousin is doing
with that tumour she has
in her head. on the grass
teenagers sit in circles,
smoking cigarettes and sharing cans of cider.
the traffic is light
so late in the evening. the air
filtering nightfall
like a teabag
in a hot mug. people walk dogs.
they run
and bark at seabirds, sniff each other’s arses
and snap their own
tails. I cycle
toward home
where the walls are all welcoming.
wind rushes
in my ears
like the plunging sound
of saltwater, cleaning out infection
and all the bad
news.