Donal Mahoney- Three Poems

Odd and Strange

The day Paul got married, 

his old girlfriend called his house 

just before he and his bride Anne

caught the plane for their honeymoon. 

Paul was outside packing the car 

and Anne answered the phone. 

His old girlfriend was angry because 

Paul had married somebody else so she  

told Anne strange things Paul liked to do,

strange things Anne had never heard of,

stuff that didn’t sound like Paul at all, 

but Anne said nothing about the call

and they flew off to a nice honeymoon, 

diving off cliffs and swimming in the sea, 

seeing rare birds and tropical flowers, 

eating native foods Anne hadn't heard of.

Years later, they went back to Oahu 

for their 40th anniversary, and Anne

told Paul about the call but didn’t say 

anything about what the girl had said 

although she remembered every word.

They were sipping drinks at a cafe 

when Paul admitted he remembered 

the girl because she would ask him to do 

things he thought odd and strange.

He was open-minded but there’s a limit. 

Anne said she understood because after 

40 years with Paul, she now liked to do 

things she thought odd and strange when 

she left the Amish for something new. 

The POTUS and Sandy Hook

When the president

speaks from the podium

and mentions the 20 children 

shot to death at Sandy Hook

by a lunatic with a rifle, 

he often wipes away a tear

and who can blame him?

But he doesn’t shed a tear 

when he speaks about

Planned Parenthood

and the thousands of children 

mothers leave behind there.

Trash Cans at the Manion House

When I was in grammar school

I knew it was Wednesday

when I looked out the window

and saw across the street

three trash cans at the curb 

in front of the Manion house. 

No matter how early I got up 

the three cans would be there

looking like a trio waiting 

to break into song. 

When I’d get home from school,

the cans would be gone.

They had been put away,

I figured, until their next gig

the following Wednesday.

When I was in high school,

I noticed one day only two 

cans standing at the curb.

I was told the son had married 

and moved to another city

and his parents missed him.

But two cans were enough 

to tell me it was Wednesday.

When I came home from college,

I noticed my first week back only

one can was stationed at the curb.

My mother told me at breakfast 

Mr. Manion had died and 

Mrs. Manion wasn’t doing well.

For the years I was in college

that solitary can was always 

in front of the house.

It was still there when I 

graduated, found a job,

married and moved away.

My wife and I would visit my folks,

and one Sunday after dinner

my father asked me to give him 

a lift to the doctor on Wednesday.

When I pulled up in the car 

I noticed no can was waiting

in front of the house.

My mother told me Mrs. Manion

had died and the house was for sale

at a good price in case my wife

and I might be interested.

She said it would be a good place 

to raise kids if we ever had any.

My father usually said little 

but coughed and agreed.

They seemed happy because

I hadn’t said no to the idea.

I knew they would like us

to live across the street but

I wanted to talk with my wife.

But my parents stared at me 

when I asked if they could find out  

if the trash cans were included 

in the price of the house. 

I’d need them on Wednesdays.

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Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.