I lie,
ribs caved in
and cracked up like shattered shipping pallets,
smashed and battered, dropped
in the yard
of an industrial estate,
forgotten about
out of the way
somewhere,
growing even older.
I’m too much trouble to haul off now
and too heavy to break down,
stained with rain
and bleached from occasional sunspikes –
a thing for birds to perch on,
just for a moment
and turn against the air,
and fly away.
Header photograph © Sarah Huels.
DS Maolalai has been nominated for Best of the Web and twice 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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