now
it has just become
a way to say
goodbye. we do it
automatically,
like shaking hands
with strangers
or holding open doors.
just decency. kindness. the thing
you have to say say
when there’s something
you have to say. no weight at all.
like having too many pennies
in circulation
until they’re only worth a gumball,
and eventually
not even worth
that:
“I love you”
∞
DS Maolalai has been nominated for Best of the Web and twice 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)
Follow him on Twitter @diarmo1990.
