it's funny that fur makes

a sound in an empty apartment

when you're just doing laundry,

doing dishes or reading a book.

the heart beats, the breath

creates texture. the knowledge you aren't

alone. it was only on sunday

her breathing went funny. next day

in the vet with sedation her tongue

pressed the table like a crayon

making letters in a toddler's hand.

I loved that dog so much it's hard

to make art of her. I feel like a bastard – my wife

has been crying more often than me.

DS Maolalai has been described by one editor as "a cosmopolitan poet" and another as "prolific, bordering on incontinent". His work has nominated eleven times for Best of the Net, eight for the Pushcart Prize and once for the Forward Prize, and has been released in three collections; "Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden" (Encircle Press, 2016), "Sad Havoc Among the Birds" (Turas Press, 2019) and “Noble Rot” (Turas Press, 2022)