DS Maolalai
KHC Control
the floor
was metallic tile.
we had a screen on the wall
counting the calls in the queue.
there was something else
which monitored the air
in case someone
tried a gas attack. that had happened
before
apparently
but never
in the two years I was there.
we spent most of our time talking
when the weather was good.
most alarms came
from the wind
so in summer
we'd sit in all night
looking
as the sky until 10pm
stayed bright as tinfoil.
I watched a lot of tv
and read a lot of books.
next door
the bikers played fifa
and got drunk as shit
and told jokes about fucking
and vague racism.
at 7am
we got to leave. it was bright then too
and the buses were crowded.
we were all
pretty quiet
in the control room.
sometimes a phone would ring.
sometimes we answered it.
About DS Maolalai
DS Maolalai recently returned to Ireland after four years away, now spending his days working maintenance dispatch for a bank and his nights looking out the window and wishing he had a view. His first collection,Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden, was published in 2016 by the Encircle Press. He has twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.