Burger shops. Empires – DS Maolalai
6am sunday. men power-
wash stains from off cobble.
some are hungover, some just
very tired. one arrives late
with four coffees in a wilting
card tray. last night this town
was all rags and good stories.
women getting fucked up
on ladies night drinks.
men fighting outside
of burger shops. empires
burning. things happened
to be talked about
forever. and this morning
the other kind of man walks
about with a spray gun and daffodil-
bright yellow jacket,
a subcontractors logo
printed in plasticky ink.
DS Maolalai has been nominated eleven times for Best of the Net, eight for the Pushcart Prize and once for the Forward Prize. His poetry has been released in three collections, most recently "Sad Havoc Among the Birds" (Turas Press, 2019) and “Noble Rot” (Turas Press, 2022).
