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DS Maolalai

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America – what

a flight of strong beers
on this patio brewpub in Boston
a stroll from the hostel
where we drank until late-
night last night. America –

what unbelievable novelty!
and drinking again now
this morning to early afternoon!
there's a dog and some girls
and some guys around 40,
all decked out with beer-
guts like tires and sunglasses.
the air smells of sawdust
and no decoration;

that sought after bare-
walled industrial style. I love it;
this August, this sun
like a new polished
quarter. and that
is a novelty also –

being able to say things
like that. we have some
time to spend – we order
for some sandwiches,
eat them quite slowly. the bus
leaves for Salem at 3.
we are going; we intend
to see all America –
needing to see nothing else.

DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as "a cosmopolitan poet" and another as "prolific, bordering on incontinent". His work has nominated eleven times for Best of the Net, eight for the Pushcart Prize 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)
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