A Broadway play, a matinee,
Two seats right on the aisle.
The highest row, but even so,
We both left with a smile.
The show was sad, yet we were glad
For every great performer
Was new to us and, as a plus,
What made us feel much warmer
Was meeting John, a paragon
Among all theater ushers.
He made us laugh, unlike some staff
Who only act as shushers.
It’s kind of rare to really share
An unforeseen connection,
But our good luck relied on pluck
And also, seat selection!
Four blossoms fall
coming to a rest
on the crest of a wave
rippling across the fathomless lake.
Three flowers flowing
sweet wind blows
the scent of fresh buns
in the wake of a glorious sun
Two cherry blossoms float
a streetlight shining upon
the lone bench embracing the night
moths pining after the celestial crescent.
A single bud blooms
new hope bursts forth
sparks spring old and young
blooming into spring.
Good is A, Grand Good Finisher,
Who doesn’t need A Well Wisher.
He had tops come as Dish Washer
Before Studentship from Russia;
His dragnets swelling in Asia,
When he there lived as A Fisher…
Now, A Company’s Car Washer
And in their Church Foremost Usher
Unlike Luke Lee with look harsher,
Sometimes Post leaving for Rasher
And self passing off as Pasha;
Good their Church enlarging its size,
All the time, grabbing The Fat Prize…
Indeed, A Good Good Finisher,
This to his Foes their Tarnish-er!
The heavy drums roar
The light cymbals strike
The men hide inside the lion prop
The lion dances lively
The clown in front fans challengingly
The lion moves swiftly
The lion rolls smoothly
Suddenly the lion jumps into the air
For the lettuce and the red packet Hung high at the door
The lion dance will usher in
Luck and fortune
In an enlightening and bustling way
Foods are catered for friends and relatives
Showing generosity and prosperity
A-s I usher you to your seat,
R-apture you truly feel;
J-oy brought by your birth
E-ndorses a thousand thrill.
L-et me usher you to your seat, as friends clap their hands;
Y-es, you are at the center, so it's easy for us to glance.
R-emain seated in the middle,
E-xcept if you want another treat;
C-hairs around are all occupied,
I-'ll usher you to your
O-wn seat.
B-ench and stools are arranged,
A-ugust sixth sunny heat;
Y-our place is so special,
U-sher you to your seat.
Many churches today
have a food pantry that never
had a pantry before.
I attend a church like that.
Some folks are well-fixed,
others poor, most betwixt.
Some had money before
but not enough now to pay
the mortgage and then buy food
so the pantry helps them
the same way it helps clients
it has helped for years.
Some folks in the pews quietly
support the pantry with
checks and canned goods
enabling the nouveau poor
to stand in line with the
forever poor on Mondays.
A neighborhood baker slips
into the church Sunday mornings
just prior to the end of service
and quietly stacks his trays
of unsold bread in the dark foyer.
He says nothing and disappears.
No one seems to know
who he is but the hungry
love his bread and word
of its excellence has reached
the woman who leaves church early
and always grabs two loaves
of French baguettes and is
out in the parking lot long
before anyone else and
drives off in a red Mercedes.
Perhaps she’s on unemployment,
low on food stamps or is still
making payments on the car.
It’s not for the usher to ask.
I simply hold the door.
Donal Mahoney
Welcome to hindsights masquerade!?
The halls of darkened woes
Whereat anything attritful, goes....
Into the chambers of rantistics sorrows
All your tomorrows, leading
To its foreboding gates thus now borne?!
Trillistic castles; piercing the purpaling nights
Perplexing shadows bound afore this
Pandiginous calling....
Truculence, within these their screeching cries
Cries, amid the labyrinth of this their plight!?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
....“Welcome, Unto Pandillians House of Usher” ~
humpf zap zarathustra honks
jingle jangle splash
shiin
doki doki
pada pada
clunk clank crash
snore snore
.......snore
tick tock tick
bang bang bang
ROAR
shiin silence