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.
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.