A Ticket to Somewhere
When I was eight
I jumped off a roof as if
I had a parachute
and broke a leg.
He was there when I landed,
told me to be careful,
said I was too young
and then disappeared.
In a high school game
I went up for a rebound,
came down on my head
and got a concussion.
When I landed
he was there again,
said I was still too young
and had better be careful.
In my late forties
I almost got hit by a truck
but jumped back in time
and landed on the curb.
This time he told me
I was no longer too young
and if I wasn’t careful
I might see him again.
Now decades later
I have been very careful
but I still watch for him
because the last time he said
every one of us has
a ticket to somewhere
with choices to make
and moments to decide.
What the Doctor Doesn’t Say
It’s a simple procedure
I’ve done for years
many times a day.
You'll go home this afternoon,
take it easy over the weekend,
go back to work on Monday.
Insurance covers the cost.
No one has a problem
except the fetus.
This Maze This Woman
Every man
needs a cane
and a German Shepherd
to ford the mind
and engage the maze
of any woman
single or married.
It doesn’t matter
which maze
which woman
as long as he
trundles on
when he marries
supports his children
grows old
and then rises
one hot morning
blinks in the ether
and asks himself
why did he marry
this maze
of a woman
only to find alas
she’s gone
———————————————————
Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
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