Poem – The Fuse (By DS Maolalai)

The Fuse

 

I was hungover,

boiling water.

the coffee

smelled

intense

as trees falling

when I burst the foil,

and specked my daylight

and made me wrinkle my nose

like a rabbit

unburrowed in the sand.

 

it was

good. I was

feeling the cold

on my feet, bare

and enjoying it.

 

and outside

the day was heading

to be fine.

 

then from nowhere

the electric kettle

popped like a firecracker

and scorches shot up

the wall.

the toaster

banged

like a chair falling over

and all the lights

went out.

 

I was lucky

I was tired

and not holding

any wires. I just

accepted it. checked the rest

of the apt electric

and it all

seemed ok.

 

I called my landlord,

got talked through

fixing the fuse

and went out

to get

what would be

better coffee

anyway.

it was 10am.

I needed something good and strong

to properly appreciate

my survival.

 

Author Bio: DS Maolalai

DS Maolalai has been nominated for Best of the Web and twice for the Pushcart Prize. 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.