by DS Maolalai
working together, all three
in tandem, particular
with slow careful movement.
we carry it properly,
held high from the ground,
with the legs at hip-level
to swivel. it’s been
a good sofa, I think – many things
happened here and still,
it’s quite comfortable.
my first time getting rid
of an object which works.
my legs nearly go in the hallway,
then lock, and I fix down
my fingers. my brother has the front end.
I take the back. chrys is in the middle, but not
really for the weight – she directs us
so we can get the thing outside
and not collide with any tables,
with any chairs
or bicycles.
like moving a hippopotamus, we work our angles;
turn through various doorways,
through the kitchen where we catch our hands
on corners. shift and pause. pause
and shift. the weight moves,
steady as a box of bananas.
behind us
a space has opened.
it is scattered
with lost objects – pencils, keys,
receipts and bits of paper. we leave it in the garden
and come back in; the room
feels vacant,
like the space of a pulled tooth.