Donal Mahoney Poems

So I never go out
but I'm never at home
so that's why I never
answer the phone.
...

I remember the train
and the cab that I caught,
the train because of the meal that I had,
too many plates, the tiniest portions,
...

An hour a day,
sometimes more,
I chipped away
with mallet and chisel
...

July in the streets
of Mexico City:
One of the women
one never would marry.
...

We dare not tell
the Fuehrer that
we failed to get
the rabbi's wife
...

A Caseworker's Nightmare

In a corner of the room
scribbles of loose yarn soar,
interweave and dive
...

In the long run
the boy will be worth
all the misery
I've caused you,
...

Ireland to America, long ago

In this Kerryman's eyes
big ships sail
...

The priest had been here earlier and the rosary was said
and relatives and friends in single file were offering condolences.
'Sorry for your troubles, ' one by one they said,
bending over Maggie Murphy, silent in her rocker,
...

The same nightmare woke my father
every night for years.
He had no idea what it meant
and so he wrote the story down
...