local_library First arrival in London

by DS Maolalai

Published in Issue No. 252 ~ May, 2018

i was sitting outside the airport

in a bus terminal

 

waiting

for something to come. i was in london;

22 years old

with 3 stuffed bags

and 50 pounds in sterling

sweating blue on my ankle.

i was watching these two kids kissing

a few rows ahead of me,

kissing

with their hands on eachothers necks

and their fingers

creeping into eachothers hair. i was there,

finally,

 

to get away from dublin

and setting out

and be the greatest english-language writer

since the translator of baudelaire and pasolini

and felt

possibly

that this could be some material. my girlfriend then

 

was in another country.

3 days were booked in a hostel.

the air was cold,

college was over.

no job,

no real,

no prospects. the bus

 

was late

and pigeons

were everywhere. i leaned a bag on my hip

and opened a sandwich packet with my thumbs

humming to myself

like someone who felt

ok.

account_box More About

DS Maolalai recently returned to Ireland after four years away, now spending his days working maintenance for a bank and his nights drinking wine. His first collection, Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden, was published in 2016 by the Encircle Press. He has twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.