No reflection clear

lonely as the spangled
blue christmas lights
which twinkle a rhythm
in apartment bay
windows. high
on the black frames
of brutalist complexes,
and the streetshine
underneath them,
rained out
and catching
lamps. a foggy
bathroom mirror;
there is no
reflection
clear here. just vague
and unflattering
descriptions of dublin
from a man in a chair
on christmas in a closed-
up alzheimer ward
trying to remember
the world.

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)