Midnight Squatters
Homeless man
in a Trayvon hoodie
under an old raincoat,
a gift today from
the Salvation Army,
sits like a capital L
against the wall
of a downtown bank
while a homeless cat
strolls around him,
hoping for bits of ham
from the gnawed remains
of yesterday's sandwich
as happens many nights
when the cat visits him
despite no bell or kettle.
Big Bet at an Old-Timers' Card Game
The morning paper says
Debbie Reynolds is 82.
Sixty years ago, the little doll
married Eddie Fisher,
balladeer back in our time.
Remember, Eddie dumped Debbie
and married Liz Taylor who
put the oomph in technicolor.
Then Liz dumped Eddie
and married Michael Todd,
the aging movie mogul.
Todd died in a plane crash
and Fisher's dead now, too.
So's the beautiful Ms. Taylor.
Tell me this before you deal again:
When Debbie gets her obit
which of us, and I'll take bets,
will be around to read it.
Playing God
Want to know how
God may feel at times
about us mortals?
Then every dawn
in any weather
place a tin
of Fancy Feast
on the deck
for the feral cat
behind the oak
who won’t come out
till you go back inside.
Then take a peek
and watch old Tom
come up the steps
and eat his fill
before rumbling off
to find a harlot or a saint
to accept his genes
before he comes back
to feed again at dawn.
You may be a deity to Tom
but you will never get
one meow of worship.
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Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
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