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.