Stroke
| Ireland to America, long ago
In this Kerryman’s eyes
you can still see
big ships sail
and lighthouses flicker
light years away.
He’s 70 today
and sits tombstone straight
in his caneback chair.
He waves at the flake
hanging from his nose,
misses and curses.
It’s his first curse of the day
and he’s ready now for anything,
an ancient ram braced for the British
climbing through the mist.
His children, parents themselves now,
sit in his parlor, silent around him.
When they hear that first curse,
they know it’s 20 years earlier
and Father is calling
a big meeting of the Family.
They shift in their chairs
as his eyes and his words
whiz around the room
like bees liquored up
looking for something to sink into.
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— Donal Mahoney
Editor’s Note:
Editor’s note: Donal Mahoney, a native of Chicago, lives in St. Louis,
Mo. The "narrowback" son of Irish immigrants from counties Kerry and Cork,
he has worked as an editor for The Chicago Sun-Times, Loyola University
Press and Washington University in St. Louis.
He has had poems published in or accepted by The Wisconsin Review,
The Kansas Quarterly, The South Carolina Review, Commonweal, Irish American
Post, U.S. Catholic Magazine, Revival (Ireland), The Istanbul Literary
Review (Turkey), Pirene's Fountain (Australia), ROPES (Ireland),
The National Catholic Reporter, Public Republic (Bulgaria) and other
publications. |
The Irish American Post is
pleased to review poetry submissions for potential publication. Please
email your work to Martin Russell, poetry editor, editor@irishamericanpost.com.
Or mail poems to:
Russell c/o The Post, 1815
W. Brown Deer Rd., Milwaukee, Wis. 53217.
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