Somewhere to Walk to

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by DS Maolalai

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trying at the lightswitch

with my arms in a basket of laundry. flicking

my elbow – surely

there must be a way. like a man

struggling to unpack

a truck full of vegetables

in early morning mist,

but I am in a bedroom

which smells faintly of feet, and not mine

either – it smells of your feet

and the dog loves it. she misses you

so badly all the time now. hopefully

I’ll get this lot cleaned up

and remember to open a window. it’s mostly

your laundry I’m doing,

and that ought to fix things

for both of us – your feet

given somewhere to walk to.

it’s a beautiful day outside;

perhaps they can go to the park.

I’ll go with them, and we can take

the dog. she likes it there

more than anywhere.

 

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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)

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