Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Donal Mahoney- Three Poems

The Mudslide

Oso, Washington 2014

Under the mud he can hear the men 
digging and cursing but they 
can't hear him scream.

The mud won't let him scream.
He was out for a walk when the mud
came down the hill like lava 

covering him and the woman, 
an arranged marriage of strangers 
sinking and screaming

He wonders how long he'll be there. 
He can't recall the prayer
his grandmother taught him.

He wonders if the woman can hear 
the men digging and cursing
and if she's able to scream.



Same Old Story

When Martha gets home from 
cooking class this afternoon,
Martin will be gone 

after 30 years of marriage.
Martha won't know why
but it's the same old story

another woman
this one young and beautiful
but deaf and mute as well

a woman Martin likes 
because her body speaks 
a language all its own

a woman who stays home
unless Martin chooses
to walk her 

along with Sparky,
an old sheepdog his wife 
gave him as a pup.



First Warm Day 

Great joy today.
The sun and the breeze
have the mockingbird 
flitting from branch 
to branch, warning 
the other birds.

My wife fills the feeder 
with thistle and sits 
on the bench with
the cat at her feet 
making ablutions. 
From the kitchen
I watch goldfinches
thrive on the thistle.  

An old stewing hen
bubbles on the stove.
Tonight it will arrive
with a cast of dumplings 
big as the clouds.   

The radio bleats
the Cardinals have lost 
to the Pirates.
On a day like today 
who can possibly care.


Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

No comments:

Post a Comment