by D.S. Maolalai

my friends
send me news articles
which I really should
be reading
but instead I go on YouTube
and hunt for old cartoons;
Wile E Coyote
and Elmer Fudd – I always like
the losers
in every game I see
but in the news today
none of the losers
are funny. it’s all just sad.

I don’t want to think
about Speedy Gonzalez’s kids
stripped naked
and put in cages.
I want to see him
zip past fuckers,
dodge bullets
and stop for a drink
by some guy
sleeping in the sun.

I want to see
Jerry
beat Tom with a frying pan
and chuckle
at my desk.

I really
should
get more opinion pieces in
when I’m killing time at work,
but shit,
I like to be optimistic – maybe today
the coyote
will finally have some breakfast
or Yosemite Sam
will knock the shit
out of that fucking rabbit.
&

DS Maolalai 

DS Maolalai is a poet from Ireland who has been writing and publishing poetry for almost 10 years. His first collection, Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden, was published in 2016 by the Encircle Press, with “Sad Havoc Among the Birds” forthcoming from Turas Press in 2019. He has been nominated for Best of the Web and twice for the Pushcart Prize.

artist: julia walck