Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Donal Mahoney- Three Poems


A Matter of Pride

I first heard about
the Seven Deadly Sins
in grammar school
back when kids
memorized almost 
everything.

Wrath, Greed, Sloth,
Pride, Lust, Envy,
Gluttony skipped off 
my tongue in third grade 
even though I had 
little idea of what 
they meant.

As I grew older
and learned what
they involved
I came to think Pride 
wasn't as deadly 
as the others
since most Americans
inherit Pride
to some degree 
in their DNA

but then I listened to 
a political debate 
the other night
and heard someone
with terminal Pride
preach on television, 
someone who should 
have been in hospice 
rather than on stage.

As Americans we’re 
lucky terminal Pride 
is not contagious.
We know it’s an
autoimmune disease.
No cure for that.



Casserole Candidates

When candidates stop 
applauding themselves
I decide which one 

in this odd buffet 
of strange casseroles 
is saying what he or she

thinks will get them elected 
and not what they will do 
if they are elected and then 

I vote for the one I think
is least apt to make things 
far worse than they are.



No More Toilets for Lupe

If The Donald gets his way
Lupe will no longer 
clean toilets in America

working in hotels
following her husband, 
Pablo, as he follows  

produce ripening 
on vines and trees 
and in fields from 

California to Alabama
picking peaches
and melons every day

week after week
during the harvest
for you and for me and

The Donald who says
if he gets his way,
Lupe and Pablo will 

go back to the village 
where a toilet has
yet to be seen.


Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
 

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