Tucked in a booth in back,
the last customer of the day
cracks a fortune cookie,
sips Oolong as Mr. Hong
locks up. It’s time for his supper.
Two tall sons bear
from the kitchen dishes
his wife won’t allow
on the menu.
Platters of meat
red, green, brown
huddle and steam
in the middle of the table.
When the Hongs
drop in their seats
chopsticks fly
like beaks. So many bright teeth,
quick as piranha.
Istanbul Literary Review - May 2010 Edition (#17)
Donal Mahoney
USA
Donal Mahoney, a native of Chicago, lives in St. Louis, Missouri U.S.A. 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, The Beloit Poetry Journal, Commonweal, The Istanbul Literary Review (Turkey), Public Republic (Bulgaria), Gloom Cupboard (U.K.), Revival (Ireland), Poetry Super Highway, Pirene's Fountain (Australia) and other publications.
