All the illegal brazilians
now I see the occasional tram
through the window, puffing like a chain
smoker on the third or fourth cigarette
of lunch. catalina has been firing
all the illegal brazilians systemicatically
over the last couple weeks. I don’t know how she thinks
she’ll replace them but she says
she has a plan. I plan to hire diogo myself
for some work at my apartment – just a bit
of painting and a clean before we move.
I know that he’s reliable and he needs the money –
he’s apparently getting married
to stay in ireland with his wife. catalina I think
is portuguese or something –
she seems fine with immigration
as long as they’re not from brazil.
it’s not my department – I don’t like it but what
can you do. we’ve been losing clients –
people are loyal to their cleaners. I don’t get to talk
to her much – I don’t smoke at work
and that’s where decisions are made. nathalia
is over here legally but planning on quitting
which is probably a sensible move.
.
Remembering is a comparison game.
almost 8 years
on we’ve gotten
and sometimes I still look her up.
it doesn’t make me sad
anymore to think of it,
but still, it’s a strange mistake
to make, and remembering too
is a comparison game
like patience;
you play it out
dealt against yourself.
solitaire on a computer
has said it’s always winnable
but in life you can easily
deal out a crippled hand.
her boyfriend looks nice
and in most of the pictures
she’s smiling.
I can’t stop losing
against myself.
© DS Maolalai
DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as “a cosmopolitan poet” and another as “prolific, bordering on incontinent”. His work has been nominated twelve times for BOTN, ten for the Pushcart and once for the Forward Prize, and 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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