DS Maolalai

they are sitting the next table
over. both on the inner seat,
touching each other on the arms.
it’s not an appropriate restaurant
for it, but i wouldn’t complain.

he is maybe 22. she is maybe 18
and they fuck, we can tell,
with the clumsiness of children
handling things in a jewellery shop.
keep kissing when they think
no-one’s looking. exploring
each other’s hoodie pockets.

i eat my fried fish,
my wife eats her steak
and we make conversation, our eyes
angled mirrors and signalling rocky-
shore lights. later, we fuck too,

with more definition
of purpose, and sleep on our sides
of the bed. she snores and i go
to the bathroom, drink a mouthful
of water. she doesn’t
often wear hoodies.
if she did, i would put
my hands in too.

Bio

DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as “a cosmopolitan poet” and another as “prolific, bordering on incontinent.” His work has been nominated fourteen times for BOTN, eleven for the Pushcart, and once for the Forward Prize, and released in three collections: Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden (Encircle Press, 2016), Sad Havoc Among the Birds (Turas Press, 2019), and Noble Rot (Turas Press, 2022).