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Lady in the Snow | Donal Mahoney - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

Lady in the Snow | Donal Mahoney

I turn the porch light on at 4 a.m.
to see if a miracle’s occurred
and the paper’s landed somewhere
in the snow blanketing our lawn.
Instead I see a clump on the mat
a one-eyed cat dazed by the cold
looking at me as if to say
“Are you the guy I saw
a week ago before I ran?”
Every morning now I feed
two feral toms at our back door
but never a cat at our front door.
My wife might say okay
once she knows this cat’s
a lady in big trouble.
When I open the door
the cat runs across the street
turns around, sits on the curb
looks at me and says, “Listen, Mister,
I’m cold and hungry but we just met.
One quick peek is all you get.”

More at http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com/.

The Deli on Granville | Donal Mahoney - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

The Deli on Granville | Donal Mahoney

I lived in the attic back then,
and late those evenings I had to study
and couldn’t afford to go drinking
I’d run down to the deli and buy
bagels and smoked lox.
I’d watch the lame son
wrap each item in white paper
while his father, coughing at the register,
pointed to the cans on the wall
and screamed, “Serve yourself! Serve yourself!”
I’d grab a tin of baked beans and he’d smile.
Now, years later, I return to the deli
and find that it’s closed.
The sign on the door confirms
what everyone else already knows:
There has been a death in the family.

More at http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com/.

Maggie and Max | Donal Mahoney - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

Maggie and Max | Donal Mahoney

Our son married a flibbertygibbet,
my wife says, and I agree,
but he loves Maggie very much
so I say let’s keep quiet.
It’s not our place to criticize.
Max is 33, and not long
back from Iraq.
I remind my wife
that Maggie can cook
better than most
so let’s give her a chance.
Max works two jobs
and he’s never home.
Maggie’s young.
Maybe the baby will help
but I doubt it.
Too bad Maggie
didn’t take to quilting,
my wife points out.
The ladies at church
did their best to teach her.
But quilters, I remind her,
don’t go out at midnight
to places nobody knows.
My wife keeps asking
why Max married Maggie.
I don’t know what to say.
Finally I tell her I never saw
any woman walk like Maggie.
My wife says I never will.

More at http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com/.

The Corner of Wells and Madison | Donal Mahoney - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

The Corner of Wells and Madison | Donal Mahoney

I know that if I ever
fall in the street
the way that man did,
in the middle of an intersection,
someone will mind.
But if unlike that man
I make it
to the other side,
scale the curb and
mount the sidewalk
and then fall,
no one will have to
drive around me.
There will be no extra noise.
There will be only the usual honking.
People walking by
will have to watch their step, true.
But this is Chicago:
No one can blame me for that.

More at http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com.

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