Spinning

by DS Maolalai

like water
in brightly lit
2am toilet bowls:
the stars whipping
cartwheels off;
bending and shooting
straight up. falling
down drunk
is a shame which comes
suddenly jumping –
like messing about
at piano
or screwing up lines
on a date.

it was better
in winter in Canada
or in midwinter here –
the cold some defense
against stopping and talking;
ice, at least some
vague excuse.

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).