Friday, October 30, 2015

Donal Mahoney- Three Poems


Old Sam in Room 322

Old Sam in Room 322 
at the nursing home asked 
the nurse to push his bed 

near the window because 
in October he likes to watch the leaves 
on the Japanese Maple change color 

from their summer green
to the red, yellow and maroon of fall 
before the branches go nude for the winter.

The nurse chuckled and said 
she hadn’t heard of his interest
in trees and nature and Sam said  

watching the leaves change color 
and fall off slowly reminds him of 
his wife getting home from work 

and taking her time to change clothes,
comb her hair and primp a little before 
smiling and coming to bed.



Butterfly Poems

I sit here at peace
and mind my own business
and hope for a butterfly.

I never take one out of the air.
I paint only the flight of the butterfly.
When I see one float overhead

I drop everything,
grab a brush and a pad.
I don’t want to miss a color.

A butterfly flying 
is more valuable 
than gold.



A Day in the Lives

It’s Monday not Sunday
and the frail lady
in black is the only 
person in the pews.

She walked in with 
the cleaning crew, 
four Bosnian women
in aprons and kerchiefs,
women of Islam cleaning 
a Christian church
in the middle of America.

They are refugees settled 
without fuss years ago.
They dust and vacuum
and keep an eye on her
sitting in the front pew
still as a statue.

They can’t see funnels 
whirling in her eyes 
and they don’t realize
she was there on Sunday
for the morning service
with her husband 
who passed the basket
and took her to brunch.

They don’t realize
she will be leaving soon
to go where he is  
to pick out his casket.


——————————————
Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
 

1 comment:

  1. wonderful work! a typology of descent; leaves, clothes, and wings funneling.

    ReplyDelete