The lost poem.
and when I see sparrows
landing on the pavement –
it’s then that I think
sparrows;
to hell with writing poems
every moment about birds.
I sit down to write
when I’m writing
and when I’m not writing
I don’t think of it. listen
to music instead. read
books. remember
feelings on the air,
or some sudden crack
cascading off the city. in work
I think about work
and send my emails,
call contractors.
but people say it’s terrible sometimes;
losing a poem. I had this idea
but I waited
to write it down. I can’t
get it. like imagining
a miscarriage – sad, sure,
but for me abstract. I write
when I write,
and sometimes
it comes out
poems, but when I’m not writing
I don’t – then
I’m doing other things.
except; there was
one though. once.
I’m sure of it. I remember.
there was a line – or maybe it was only a phrase
turning. you get them,
sometimes. like falling
perfect sleet. it was something
about sparrows
in the air. or not sparrows;
it was magpies. I saw magpies,
but betrayed them; thought sparrows
were better birds
for poetry. and I said aha then,
and startled them.
my poem
flew away.
DS Maolalai has been nominated nine times for Best of the Net and seven times for the Pushcart Prize. He has released two collections, Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden (Encircle Press, 2016) and Sad Havoc Among the Birds (Turas Press, 2019). His third collection, Noble Rot, came out in April 2022.