Donal Mahoney Poems

The demise of Mr. Wise came as no surprise
to the clerks in his department,
those weathered women who for years
had borne his scorn so well.
...

Father was a snap bean,
that's all, Sis,
nothing more.
Fresh, tinned or frozen,
...

My dear, tell me again so I know
how it would have been
had you married the man
...

Every day
the same play.
The moment I rise,
the first act begins,
...

Officer Burks brings Max
the Bloodhound
into the alley
and Max immediately
...

Thirty years later, Dad came back
and we met for Ham and Yams at Toffenetti's.
Pouring his tea, he told me he had
to restore power once
...

From my stool in the diner I watch
the old woman with elm tree arms
command the big booth in back
...

For the entire office
a death like his

coming as it has
...

Another letter may come today
from the same editor at Poetry Paradise
telling me he'll pass on the poems
I sent a year ago because
...

I met a proper woman in a proper pub
on a Monday in Peoria. I was taken by how much
she looked like Jackie after Dallas
but without the pillbox hat.
...