Friday, December 4, 2015

Donal Mahoney- Three Poems


Holiday Party in San Bernardino

14 dead.
21 wounded.
Holiday party in San Bernardino.

Syed Farook and his wife 
in black tactical gear spray
75 bullets all over the hall.

Our president wants to know more.
He wants the FBI to tell him
the couple's motive.

Perhaps this explains why 
the Trumpeter Swan enjoys
20-point lead in the polls.



Diplomatic Intrigue

We send diplomats
to talk with diplomats
of other nations
and hope a deal
is struck to bring
peace and justice
to all involved and

we’re stymied when
diplomats come back 
and bury us beneath
balderdash and buncombe.
It’s time we face the facts.
It’s time to send 
the exorcists instead.



How They Do It in Syria Today

First, we place the neck on the block
and put the basket underneath
the head and then make sure the blade 
is sharp enough before we ask the person 
one more time just to be polite:
Are you sure you’re not one of us?

And if the answer’s no, we
pick up our bullhorn and announce
loud enough for the others 
waiting in their orange to hear:
"Going once, going twice."
Then we pull the rope and

the blade drops and that one’s done.
Then we uncage the next one and tell him 
to put the head on a pole and bag the rest
before we position him on the same block 
and politely ask him the same question:
Are you sure you’re not one of us?


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Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
 

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