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DS Maolalai

Cleared ground

​this is leitrim. on the side
of a mountain. this is me,
learning how to drive. I'm 15;
giddy nervous, knuckling the steering wheel,
the gearstick and handbrake.
 
next to me, my father
gets frustrated
while I cut out again. around,
trees are everywhere, taller
than the mountain they grow on.
they are pine; we are in a timber
plantation. and we go jerky
past unused machinery
and bewildered deer,
rotten pools of water
where tadpoles
sprout legs. overhead
a skein of mallard ducks
hums like a running engine. finally
 
I get the bite
and push us forward.
ahead is empty ground,
blasted black
and dead 

Biography

Picture
​DS Maolalai (he/him) has been nominated four times for Best of the Net 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). He may be found on Twitter @diarmo1990
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ISSN 2639-426X
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  • Home
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  • Issues
    • Issue 49
    • Issue 48
    • Issue 47
    • Issue 46
    • Issue 45
    • Issue 44
    • Issue 43
    • Issue 42
    • Issue 41
    • Issue 40
    • Issue 39
    • Issue 38
    • Issue 37
    • Issue 36
    • Issue 35
    • Issue 34
    • Issue 33
    • Issue 32
    • Issue 31
    • Issue 30
    • Issue 29
    • Issue 28
    • Issue 27
    • Issue 26
    • Issue 25
    • Issue 24
    • Issue 23
    • Issue 22
    • Issue 21
    • Issue 20
    • Issue 19
    • Issue 18
    • Serenity
    • Issue 17
    • The Audio Room
    • Issue 16
    • Issue 15
    • Issue 14
    • Play It Again
    • Issue 13
    • Issue 12
    • Issue 11
    • Issue 10
    • Issue 9
    • Issue 8
    • Issue 7
    • Issue 6
    • Hand to Mouth
    • Issue 5
    • Issue 4
    • Issue 3
    • Issue 2
    • Issue 1
  • Submissions