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

a 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.