A Traveling Salesman

This traveling salesman 

has worn out six vans 

in 40 years and he

hopes to retire soon.

Age and illness 

are growing concerns

and there isn’t a pill   

for everything.

Every 20 miles or so

he has to stop for  

a rest room, usually 

at a gas station.

Then one day he sees 

a highway billboard 

that promises help.

He dials the 800 number 

on his cell phone

and a machine answers:

“Incontinence Hotline.

Can you hold?”

Donal Mahoney

A Nuclear Childhood

What if your parents 

had never met

had never married 

had never yelled 

at each other 

and instead had wed

someone they loved

and lived peacefully 

all those years.

That would have been 

their Eden but you 

shaking there now

decades later 

wouldn’t be with us  

cursing the tremors  

of a nuclear childhood 

you still remember

long after they’re dead.

Donal Mahoney

Answer Me This, America

Took the wife 

to a pancake house

the other day. 

National franchise

good food 

fine reputation.

Skipped the pancakes

had bacon, eggs,

hash browns, toast

and coffee.

Wife went fancy,

had an omelette.

Grabbed the check

because the busboy 

started clearing 

the table early.

A young dervish

new to the job

swirling his cloth

for minimum wage.

Bothered me 

to realize he'd work

three hours and a skosh

to pay for the same 

breakfast, more

if he left a tip.

Reminded me 

something’s wrong

with our great nation,

how we do business.

Have both ears open.

Hoping for an answer.

Donal Mahoney

Bison and Quail

I never think about bison.

After all, I live in St. Louis,

why should I?

But when I went hunting

for quail in Montana

I tripped and

broke my leg, flopped

on the tundra all night.

Come morning 

I saw bison romping

toward me, hundreds of them

coming in thunder.

I heard them snorting.

Honestly, I’m not lying.

I thought about bison then.

I never think about ISIS, either.

I live in St. Louis, after all,

why should I?

Donal Mahoney

Hot Spots in the City

I turn on the news to see 

who won the game last night

but first the scores from 

hot spots in the city.

Two people are killed 

and a house is set on fire. 

An infant burns to death.

Two men hijack a car 

and a mother is killed. 

Her baby is tossed 

from the car and

found a block away 

alive in a car seat.

The mayor says 

we need more cops.

Money’s the problem.

The police chief says  

he’s sending more cops 

to hot spots in the city.

The anchor says at noon 

a demonstration at City Hall 

for Black Lives Matter.

He doesn’t mention 

any demonstrations at 

hot spots in the city.

Donal Mahoney

A Stationary Bicycle

The doctor tells Phil and his wife

he’s in pretty good health for a man

his age but he needs to exercise.

And Phil says he agrees 

and then goes on to explain

his faith in recliner therapy.

He sits in a recliner for hours,

watches TV or reads the paper

and wiggles his toes 

at least three times a day.

The doctor asks if his wife if

they’d try a stationary bicycle.

She says she thinks there's 

one somewhere in the basement.

Phil says his wife’s right as usual.

He saw it one night during a storm

when he went down to change a fuse.

Said he almost had a heart attack.

Donal Mahoney