The Parlor of My Dotage – by Donal Mahoney

donal mahoney
In the parlor of my dotage
I have a grand piano where
the ghost of Shostakovich 
plays “Chopsticks” every night
while I in my recliner 
drink vodka in pajamas
and cheer old Shosty on.
 
Tonight the concert’s interrupted
when Granny in her nightcap 
dashes from her bedroom 
and shouts in high soprano  
“Send old Shosty home.
I need a good night’s sleep.
I have Mahjong in the morning.”
 
Through my bullhorn I shout back, 
“I won’t send old Shosty anywhere
until his concert ends at dawn.
Then I’ll put my parka on and saddle up
the horses and take the master home
Old Shosty swears that global warming 
is no problem there at all.”
Nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, Donal Mahoney has had poetry and fiction published in various publications in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Some of his earliest work can be found at http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com/