Donal Mahoney Poems

Tonight we offer the new Janis Joplin
a black girl in white skin who growls
every melancholy note and is
...

A bright winter day
and not a leaf left
on this skeleton
...

Poetry by priests?
Who gives it more than mock attention?
We read their poems, yes,
author first, then the title,
...

Mrs. O’Malley
from across the alley
has another small job
for my father to do
...

How are things, Adolph?
This is Brian, from NBC.
Thanks for the interview.
It will air in September
...

It's not de rigueur
to believe he's there
behind the sun,
the stars, the moon
...

Back in 1957, kissing Carol Ann behind the barn in the middle of a windswept field of Goldenrod with a sudden deer watching was something special, let me tell you. Back then, bobby sox and big barrettes and ponytails were everywhere.

Like many farmers, Carol Ann's father had a console radio in the living room, and every Saturday night the family would gather ‘round with bowls of ice cream and listen to The Grand Ole Opry. It was beamed "all the way" from Nashville I was told more than once since I was from Chicago and sometimes wore a tie so how could I know.
...

Everyone in the neighborhood was surprised when Bill McIntyre entered the seminary to study for the priesthood. He had been dating girls since early in high school and had been engaged since graduating from college to a lovely young lady. He often spoke about wanting to have a big family since he himself had been an only child. But something happened in that relationship and Bill and his girlfriend broke up.

'I always wanted brothers, ' Bill had told his best friend, Adam Moskowitz. They had played basketball together in high school and had remained close friends, meeting at the local delicatessen every couple of weeks to wolf down corned beef sandwiches, Adam's on rye, Bill's on dark pumpernickel.
...

Light ambrosia of the sun
is over all of her.
She is shy
...

Elmer's an old stag now
shedding antlers
snorting among the trees
...