Monday, March 26, 2012

Donal Mahoney- A Poem

 
What Purpose Does A Rabbit Have

The same nightmare woke my father 
every night for years. 
He had no idea what it meant 
and so he wrote the story down 
and saved the note and hoped 
some day he'd understand it.
But a note like that 
can be misplaced. 

Decades later Father 
found the note 
in a drawer of socks 
he hadn't worn in years.
He found it underneath 
his old glass eye the night 
Mother came back on the Harley 
to "make their marriage work."

He reminded Mother they had 
been divorced for years
and then, despite her tears, 
he told her, "After all this time, 
we both know now that you 
were gone before you left. 
But now you're back so 
let me tell you all about 

the nightmare I've had every night 
since you took the bike and left. 
I wrote the story down to tell the kids
when they grew up but they ran off 
before I had a chance to ask them
if they knew what my dream might mean. 
You'd like the kids. They're pretty smart.
Anyway my note says this: 

'What purpose does a rabbit have 
other than as prey?
What difference does a rainbow make 
in a rabbit’s day?'
You tell me now you love me, 
always have and always will. 
But the kids are gone forever 
so take the Harley now and go."

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