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From Bristol to London

by DS Maloalai


I'm tired - we've been
on the road since 6. it's England.
our car is rented;
we found ourselves
lucky
and got given an upgrade free.
we pace up the road,
steady as a kid eating toffees
and the motor
never slows below a groan.
at 10am
we stop for coffee - you need to pee
and I
need something hot and brown
to keep me going.
next to us in the service station
some cops are pulled in
doing the same thing.
I get nervous
the way you do around coppers
but they don't say anything
though I was drunk the night before
and would blow it
if they made me take the test.
when we pull out
they're still there,
chatting and eating their breakfast,
sitting on the bonnet of the car.
nobody's expecting any trouble;
it's Friday
and the weather continues holding fine.
 

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DS Maolalai is a poet from Ireland who has been writing poetry for 10 years. His first collection, Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden, was published by the Encircle Press, with a second forthcoming from Turas Press. He has been nominated for Best of the Web and twice for the Pushcart Prize.