DS Maolalai

DS Maolalai

DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as "a cosmopolitan poet" and another as "prolific, bordering on incontinent". His work has been nominated thirteen times for BOTN, ten for the Pushcart and once for the Forward Prize, and released in three collections; "Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden" (Encircle Press, 2016), "Sad Havoc Among the Birds" (Turas Press, 2019) and “Noble Rot” (Turas Press, 2022)

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I looked like a lion

I'm losing my hair. it's terrible: I've looked

every day. a friend made a comment

and everyone laughed (me included)

and now I can't help but notice.

I've always liked how I looked

like a lion, but baldness does fall

through the family. my uncle makes it work

pretty well I suppose. and lenin

looked good. and roald dahl. 

you can cultivate a serious look

if you like, but I'll have to get rid

of my best leather jacket. I see myself,

fifty and quietly angry:

the sort of man who sits by a fire,

who hates when things change

and says cruel things to his sister. 

there is a certain style to an oak

in december. there is a certain style

to a tortoise. I'll shave off my sideburns

and harden considerably. pretend

that I've never been vain.