Vegetable oil

by D.S. Maolalai

in a sky full of light pollution
the moon pokes half in,
like a man midway leaving a party.
on the river – a mallard
is still on still water. his green head
invisible, just beak and the grey
of his wings. a circle k truck
boasts This Truck Runs
On Recycled Vegetable Oil
as if that will impress people.
one follows – says Harris Refrigeration.
the surface of the river is a mirror
in an old manor house – not smooth
but a ripple of glass and lead
lining. they’ve replaced all the bulbs
in the lights around here with a white
LED the last week or so.
nights have been much colder lately.

***

DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as “a cosmopolitan poet” and another as “prolific, bordering on incontinent.” His work has been nominated thirteen times for BOTN, ten for the Pushcart, and once for the Forward Prize. It has also been released in three collections, most recently Noble Rot (Turas Press, 2022).