we agreed to get married last winter and next year we will be. and now all my poems about you have come to be just about that. it's like a transaction – we're in love and so, what? am I not allowed now to write chrysty poems? and I am, but it's generally just for the most part about how we're heading toward marriage. and what that will mean for my life. still – does a man who grows orchids to sell them to florists tend to them less than a hobbyist? no, he takes as much or more care, and you are an orchid I'm growing. I'm doing it now because that's what my life is. I'm doing things with you I must.
DS Maolalai has been nominated nine 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)
