A Day Spent at Dollymount Strand

D.S. Maolalai

afternoon settles 
quite ready into evening 
like the sand  
through the fibres 
of our towels. and we  
are going home, 
quite sunburned, quite tired 
and sweaty. the stickiness 
of suncream 
clicks on the seats 
of the ford, and clings 
to our collarbone  
seatbelts. we are  
in traffic, and not   
saying much.  
no radio playing, just some 
obscure argument,  
and the dog 
curled behind us  
asleep. in the trapped air, the smell 
of dry sea salt, 
like the crumpled 
grease-wrappers 
of old fish 
and chips. 

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DS Maolalai has been nominated eight times for Best of the Net and five times for the Pushcart Prize. His poetry has been released in two collections, "Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden" (Encircle Press, 2016) and "Sad Havoc Among the Birds" (Turas Press, 2019).