Donegal Square East

By DS Maolalai

walking with roofers
over buildings in Belfast 
which hang off the sky
like plums from a branch
on a roadside – 

UB head office, Donegal
Square East – brought in
in touring groups, to look 
over plantrooms, the work schedule
for contractors, the various vents
and machinery. told with apologies 
that the abseil joist
is broken, so the window
and gutter cleans must
be delayed. we are taken 
on catwalks, overlooking
the city, into rooms with pump
engines, and boat
harbour large. clouds settle,

the view blocked
by the view of other 
buildings. but it's just
Belfast anyway; we're not missing
much. Craig smiles,
has a cigarette – so too
does Adrian. I look at the sky
and don't, but consider
asking for one. 

DS Maolalai has been nominated nine 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).