peeling like clothing,
revealing the shoulders
and that line
between armpit and arm
and the side of the torso,
the ribrippled skin and the shadow of a breast.
I watch you from the bed
like an invalid with a nurse,
except that you will
come in,
you will walk,
undress
exactly as expected
you will smile
and climb into bed beside me.
I skin an orange in the morning
and watch you getting dressed,
looking for clothes and bending over,
sweet flesh revealing
as swaddle falls away. the colour
is bright as it disappears
and ruddy with flavour,
revealing other colours,
sweetness and style,
vitamins
and thirstings of juice.
DS Maolalai has been nominated four times for Best of the Net and three 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)