Ripples
it’s the hottest day again
on historical record.
3rd one this year
since july. in gardens
dogs die under fringes
of flowerbed. fishes sweat
in their tanks while fat men
sweat on balconies. drink cold
cans of beer and blow
smoke to the eye of the sun.
down on the river, on the new
james joyce bridge for pedestrians,
a group of fourteen-
and fifteen-year-olds strip
to some skins – down to their boxers
or jean shorts and bras; they fling
themselves into the river.
their whoops carry far;
ripples in soupish thick
atmosphere. they linger while ripples
spread over the riverblack skin.
trucks pass above them
vans pass, and all traffic –
they paddle beneath in half circles.
they kick back and forth,
and then over toward
ropes thrown – breaststroke
and backstroke and paddle.
DS Maolalai's poetry has been nominated twelve times for BOTN, ten for the Pushcart and once for the Forward Prize, and has been 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)