May 4-10, 2015: Donal Mahoney and Thomas Skahill

A Night in Morocco

Middle of the night he flies out of bed
to the commode only to wonder
in the dim light minutes later
if that’s blood or simply a good-bye
from his wife’s stewed tomatoes,
a Moroccan dish she found on the web.

When he asked for a third serving
he pronounced them delicious.
So too, he said, was her dessert,
the Moroccan plum mousse
with the dark plums he likes.
Even with the ceiling light on

he doesn’t know now what he sees
so with his medical history he’s
speeding at midnight to the ER
where the doctor says better safe
than sorry and orders a fast
colonoscopy to solve the mystery.

When he finally gets home, he tells
his wife when her boss comes over
for that big dinner Saturday night,
why not make Moroccan tomatoes
and her magnificent plum mousse.
He may never forget either.

Substance and Sustenance

“So…

what do you do for a living?

“I’m a poet.”
“Oh,
so you’re poor.”

“Actually
I make pretty good money
writing

for television.”
So,
you’re a screenwriter?”

“No.

It’s just something
that pays the bills.” he says
as he stares
into the void
of his cooling coffee
as though
there’s something there

I wouldn’t see or understand.