Donal Mahoney Poems

Bathroom faucet
has a slow drip.
I can barely see it.
...

A boy, maybe 5, dancing
in the candy aisle of a megastore
at 6 a.m., a month before Halloween
...

Although I emigrated from Chicago to St. Louis, Missouri, a long time ago, I have never been anywhere near the small town of Ellsinore, Missouri, the birthplace of the late Albert Ray Morlen, barber extraordinaire. Al cut my hair in his St. Louis shop for at least 30 of the 47 years he did business there. He may not have been Andy Griffith but he was close to a clone and no one marketed the glory of his small hometown better than Al. And he did very well promoting belief in Jesus Christ as well.

His family had owned the only grocery store in Ellsinore back in the Forties and Fifties. He came to St. Louis looking for work. Finding none, he went to barber school and never looked back. He was a tonsorial artist unrecognized as such by most of his customers who were blue-collar men wanting little more than a trim or a crewcut plus an update on neighborhood news. Al not only gave them what they wanted but often a more liberal education as well. His specialty was theology.
...

They’re in the kitchen,
drinking coffee, the kids,
in their fifties now,
figuring out what to do
...

She was about the doing
not about applause

canning tomatoes in summer
...

I should have said yes,
meet you anywhere you want
for lunch, even that greasy spoon
with the lousy chili and corn dogs.
...

If one is far away
and suddenly out of touch,
one should pass along
...

It started in eighth grade, much to the chagrin of her parents. Boys in high school started asking Roslyn for dates. And Roslyn would tell them they would have to ask her father. And he always said no.

"You're too young to go out with boys, Roslyn, " he would say. "On that subject, your mother and I completely agree. Wait till you're older."
...