A Critic Comes to Dinner
I told my guest
it’s just a poem
doesn't mean a thing
a salad tossed
with colors bright
while listening to
piccolos of
wrens and robins
overcome by spring
Let’s not worry about it, Dearie,
life gets better, life gets worse.
We’re no different than
the seasons of the year except
we’re luckier than most having
lived our lives in summer.
We're falling now among
the leaves of autumn
and we have winter yet
to face with ice and snow.
Let’s put the kettle on for tea,
grab a blanket and stay warm.
We'll light a fire and discover
if we’re evergreen or tropical
when spring arrives next year.
Unplanned Parenthood
There’s nothing else to say.
The problem won’t go away.
It will palpitate until
the death of one of them
as with a fetus
taken from a woman
who needs a little rest
before she puts her makeup on
and takes the bus back to work.
The woman needs the money.
Discussing why this happened
won’t pay her rent.
Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
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