Old People

These are old people

retired and driving slowly

from small apartments

in economy cars 

getting out on canes 

and walkers with

hearing aids you can see

attired in the best 

Goodwill has to offer

arriving between 1 and 3 

weekday afternoons

at Mid-America Buffet

eating their fill for $5.00 off

piling their plates with

chicken, meat loaf

salads galore, veggies

from childhood

green beans, carrots 

eaten in a rush as kids

listening to Fibber McGee

and Molly on the radio

eaten slowly now 

by folks who make it

on crackers and snacks

and one meal a day

this one for $5.00 off

at Mid-America Buffet.

Donal Mahoney 

Show or Tell

Some poets show.

Others tell.

Poets who show

use metaphor, simile,

rhythm and stories

to paint a picture

readers can see

then decide for themselves. 

Poets who tell 

are linear folk who

mean well but yell

so readers won’t miss

the cure for society’s problems.

Their straight lines are neon 

so readers won’t have to think. 

Donal Mahoney

Oddfellow

Homer’s never owned a gun,

thinks they should be banned

along with bombs and missiles.

Doesn’t need them in the river

that flows between his mind

and his emotions

where every now and then

he pushes someone in 

for some untoward remark.

He points to the sky first,

says that’s where heaven is

and gives a push

and waits to hear the scream

and then the splash.

His notebook says

some folks float away,

are never found, flotsam

among the jetsam.

Others he dives in to save

so he can push them in again

to save another day.

Donal Mahoney