Coltrane went
crazy, playing
these long

30 minute
solos
all on a long tour
of America,
on a stage
behind Miles Davis.

he spun it out
in silver
like a spider
with a web,
catching flies
and sometimes
juxtaposition.

supposedly
in a bar once
after ending a show
with another one
he said
“I don’t know
I just can’t seem
to stop playing”

and Miles
looked at him
over his sloe gin
and said
“you ever think
about taking the horn
out your fucking mouth?”

D.S. Maolalai is a graduate of English Literature from Trinity College in Dublin and has been nominated for Best of the Web, and twice 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).