Two poems
Heat.
The gardener.
D.S. Maolalai
Heat.
The gardener.
D.S. Maolalai
"Roseate Spoonbills" study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom by Abbott Handerson Thayer; oil on paperboard; 22 7⁄8 x 26 1⁄4 in.; ca. 1905-1909; open source from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Heat.
lies stretched
on the street like a lizard. I sit out
in sunlight
on a steel folding
chair. around me
the city
chips silver
with heat-haze. traffic;
poison scratches
on non-stick
frying-
pans.
lies stretched
on the street like a lizard. I sit out
in sunlight
on a steel folding
chair. around me
the city
chips silver
with heat-haze. traffic;
poison scratches
on non-stick
frying-
pans.
The gardener.
my neighbour tells me
that a tree from my property
is growing in his
garden. gives me permission
to cross the boundary
whenever I may feel
like cutting it back. I hadn't intended to do anything,
but this, I guess,
is something
which comes along
with stewardship.
dutiful, I take a long-armed snipper
and trim, careful to avoid
his car
and any flowers. his daughter
watches - she's six years old
and asks if I'd like
to come in
and play teddies with her. I tell her politely
"another time",
feeling uncomfortable.
her dad comes out.
he hushes her inside.
we make small talk and a branch
falls right between us.
my neighbour tells me
that a tree from my property
is growing in his
garden. gives me permission
to cross the boundary
whenever I may feel
like cutting it back. I hadn't intended to do anything,
but this, I guess,
is something
which comes along
with stewardship.
dutiful, I take a long-armed snipper
and trim, careful to avoid
his car
and any flowers. his daughter
watches - she's six years old
and asks if I'd like
to come in
and play teddies with her. I tell her politely
"another time",
feeling uncomfortable.
her dad comes out.
he hushes her inside.
we make small talk and a branch
falls right between us.
About the Author
DS Maolalai has been nominated eight times for Best of the Net and five 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)
About the Work
"I try my best to marry the lyrical and the mundane in poetry — I think combining the human voice of the day to day with a more artistic language is what I'm best at, and I like to think I've achieved it here."
DS Maolalai has been nominated eight times for Best of the Net and five 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)
About the Work
"I try my best to marry the lyrical and the mundane in poetry — I think combining the human voice of the day to day with a more artistic language is what I'm best at, and I like to think I've achieved it here."
