Donal Mahoney Poems

Linda's on TV this morning
being interviewed by
someone who specializes in
interviewing unusual people.
...

Sam's collected knives for 50 years
and has 200, maybe more, relics
from the Civil War and before.
Someone gave him his first knife
...

A woman was seated next to me
as we waited for the debate to start.
The candidates were late taking the stage.
...

I told my son
now that he's a father
he has to be careful about
...

Forget the fall equinox.
Fall arrives when all the moths
that dance on summer nights
...

Every time the phone rings
Bill's afraid the caller might say
another childhood classmate has died.
...

hillary dillary dock
monica ran up bill's sock
the clock struck three
bill said whee
...

I'm not saying my father hated the English, God forbid. If he were still alive, he'd hate to hear me say that. He'd correct me right away and say he didn't hate the English. Truth be told, he despised the English, especially the Black and Tans. They were the troops the English sent to take over Ireland before, during and after the Troubles in 1916. That was the time when the Irish first fought seriously for their independence.

My father would tell me often about what the Black and Tans did to him in 1920 at age 16 when he was captured while running guns for the IRA through marshes in rural Ireland. He knew the marshes in County Kerry very well because he was reared there as a farm boy. The IRA thought a boy like him would never get caught. But a boy carrying guns was not a common sight in the marshes of County Kerry.
...

The editor of the school paper
came at the appointed hour
and found the old poet
...

Six months ago
an old black couple
moved into an old brick house
...