Chicago at the Rush Hour
Only the blind man
with his leader dog
and tapping cane stops
when the homeless man
standing near the curb
asks commuters if
they have spare change.
The blind man lives downtown.
He has time to check.
The rest of us catch trains
and they won’t wait.
We march right by.
Donal Mahoney
A Limp Others Can’t See
The old man
crossing the street
has a bad limp
we try to ignore.
No one wants to look
at a limp like that.
We like to think
no one else can see
the limp we have
the limp we earned
by ignoring little people
who get in our way
who strike us as
the litter of life we
want swept away.
Donal Mahoney
A Little Boy Wanders Away
A little boy from the city
down on the farm for a day
wanders away
to look at the sheep
and finds a bull
penned up to go
to the county fair.
The boy loves
the big Texas Longhorn
quietly eating his hay.
The boy smiles at him
admires his beautiful horns
thinks they're handlebars
the biggest he’s ever seen.
So over the fence for a ride.
Donal Mahoney
Ancient Olga and Her Snoop
Our house has a garret
I never went up to until I retired.
Now I’m up there almost every day
unless I have to stay in bed
until another spell passes.
When I feel all right
I’m at the keyboard
in the garret writing
looking out the window
one eye on the neighbors.
They’re all doing well
except for ancient Olga
who’s on crutches now
and has a difficult time
getting to her Buick
especially when it snows.
She knows I’m usually
in the garret watching
and if she falls I’ll call 911.
But on days when I’m in bed
with another spell, Olga
has to be extra careful.
She thanked me once
for being the only snoop.
Donal Mahoney
Insufferable
Someone smart
told me yesterday
you never really
know the meaning
of a word until
you meet
someone or
something
that fits the word
perfectly and then
the word becomes
a catamount leaping
into your mind.
I didn’t agree
until yesterday
when I met you.
Odds are you feel
the same way too.
Donal Mahoney
A Spider in the Sink
It’s outpatient surgery
and she’s running late
trying to catch a spider
in the kitchen sink.
Wants to carry it outside
before her boyfriend wakes
and crushes it.
Then she has a long drive
to the clinic and hopes
this will be her last visit.
Her boyfriend lied
about having
that procedure.
She found out the hard way,
shouldn’t have let him back in.
Donal Mahoney
