School Day Dismay (From "Four Folded Corners")

To my son, David

I file my frayed edges
     my frazzled day,

gather you in my arms,
     my sweet baby boy,

when tears hang
     from your lashes.


By Mary E Lohan

Election Day: The Surprise Victory of Donald J. Trump -- A Trump Presidency Poem

We have come on foot
from far away to be heard --
men, women, young, old
some with children and toddlers
          in tow,

to say our piece in peace,

Alas, the shadow government grows,
for years left unchecked,
and the media has warped
into a self-consumed defect,

Who are we?

Store owners, teachers,
miners of the Rust Belt,
priests and preachers,

people of faith,
of color,
children of the "wretched"
who came through Ellis,

deplorables
of varying age,
legal and some
once illegal,
we check off:
"Human Race"

Our vote is
our protest march,
and our voices
will be heard --

Our states can no longer sustain
the ills befallen us, 
the aims of self interests 
leaching this great nation,
The blights must be treated,
The enemies of this great Republic defeated,
And the burdens 
of this nation set free. 


By Mary E. Lohan

Photo: A Trump/Pence sign stands along Interstate 70 outside the shuttered Stanley Mines Company building in Idaho Springs, Colorado.

Fire Escape - A Poem (From "Speaking to the Darkness")

From this metal perch

pigeons circle overhead,
the Brooklyn sun
blazing, baking
tenement walls,
melting rooftops
to goo,

this, my balcony,
where I read novels
after school, my feet
dangling through bars,
three stories from earth,
-- part of the sky

the rumble of
the L train stirs
periodically, the snore
of a giant
asleep beneath me

no bird song -- simply
the whirs and sirens,
the shouts of dinner
out windows

accompanied by
the gentle sway
of working class clothes
strung from lines --

celebrating liberation
from life's routine.

By Mary E. Lohan

Photograph by John Albok

Contemplation - A Poem

To do or not do,
the decision tree
grows...

to some
choices are few,
fettered by angst
of loss weighed
heavily

to others
choices abound
with derivatives,
loss is realistic,
offset by gain.

This world has
no balance sheet,
an accounting in the end
may survive --

it's the chance you take,
that's just life.

By Mary E. Lohan 

The Cursory Nefarious Network (CNN) - A Trump Presidency Poem

Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. - AJ Liebling

World stage
curtains open

and enter,
the Puppeteers

lavishly coiffed,
a pageant show.

Teleprompters on
the script begins,

"Live!"

The arms and legs jump,
heads bob to and fro --

as we watch these
modern day Pinocchios

The crowd knows only
what they wish to portray,

"Believe!.. Believe!"

We are a puppetland,
     if we too listen
and move to their command.


By Mary E. Lohan 

Turbulence - A Poem (From "Four Folded Corners")

Those were turbulent days

     like ships on scrambled waves

we crashed and swayed --

     drifted

Til in the orange tint of morn'

     with labored breath

we were reborn --

    until dusk

But the blues and greys of night

     begged insight as I redressed

redid, relit the silent inner fight --

     I submit,

You held the string to my flight,

     I was your kite. 

By Mary E. Lohan

Ageism - A Poem (From "Two of Cups: A NY Poet in Galway")

On some days

     I am an age,

And yet it matters not

     to trees, clouds, cats

It's simply a way

     to discriminate,

longevity from brevity

Age guarantees naught.

By Mary E. Lohan

You at Two - A Poem (From "Four Folded Corners")

To my son, Dillon

Oh, your inventory of smiles --

your crinkley-eyed smile,

your curling ribbon smile,

your 'uh-oh' smile,

Your head sandwiched in the 'fridge

watching the light

go on 

and 

off.

By Mary E. Lohan 

Bach Played on Guitar - A Poem (From "Four Folded Corners")

Slender ivory bones bow

pluck and braid
celestial sounds

on taut strings.

By Mary E. Lohan 

Crush - A Poem (From "Four Folded Corners")

All is hushed
transient

Time becomes
the beat of your lips
speaking

There are no words
just your smile

I understand now --
Pain is pleasure,
Pleasure is plain

Keep speaking
and I'll try,
not to fall into your eyes.

By Mary E. Lohan

Love - A Poem (From "Two of Cups: A NY Poet in Galway")

Love is not
a diamond
a display
a wedding

Love is not
two becoming one
a perfect fit
all of the time

Love is
a pure expression
so utterly simplistic --

Love is kind.

By Mary E. Lohan

(Book artwork of "Two of Cups: A New York Poet in Galway" by Thomas Sheridan)

Summery Day - A Poem (From "Four Folded Corners")

A tribute to summer and those fab beach days

Across the deck,
I lie splayed --
an upturned star

a squinty-eyed face
gazing at a brilliant,
baby blue sea

umbrellas flutter
nearby, like sting rays
or pulsing jellies

this inverted world

I wish
to be a fish
in this fluid

summery day,
where I'd ever so slowly
swim away.

By Mary E. Lohan

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: Epoch - A Poem

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: Epoch - A Poem: Time has a way of skimming       souls, exposing the raw wracked and burdened a way of humbling egos, slowly withering to a self ...

Epoch - A Poem

Time has a way of skimming
      souls, exposing the raw
wracked and burdened

a way of humbling egos,

slowly withering to a self
barely recognizable
except when smiling

hulling like a plane,
thinly
      surfacing a ship-wrecked
past of heart-laden words
laying upon rocks, forever
stranded

baring the wounded driver
careening down one way streets
that leads back to alleyways
of perpetual dead-endedness

the mermaids call, and as in old,
the sailors heed and are lead to doom,
desolation and despair,

Time has a way of tolling,

of moving you closer than farther
as you float to and fro,

of awakening you to the
potential of promise,

and as each day passes,
what ceases to be.

By Mary E. Lohan

Trump Inauguration Jan 20, 2017 - A Trump Presidency Poem

"When you open your heart to Patriotism, there is no room for prejudice."
- President Donald J. Trump

We have come
the under-estimated, forgotten,
      awakened,
to bear witness before Lincoln

a nation rebirthing

under a pyrotechnic display
on this, our most hallowed
national ground,

where walked our
fore fathers --
the tempo builds

amid fanfare
trumpeting a new day
of Patriotism,

standing shoulder
to shoulder
one country, all citizens,
shall rise.

Flick - A Poem

Too tired
to write
to a flea.

By Mary E. Lohan

Worry - A Poem

We worry to worry
What if we don't worry though?
Then what?

Will it be chaos?
Will we lose sight
of something
or just of the fright?

By Mary E. Lohan

Love Poem (from "Four Folded Corners")

Times Square Commute, NYC (2015) - A Poem

8 am
"Yesterday" on violin
plays

commuters, tourists,
the homeless,

we walk through
tunnels
some shuffle,
meander,

you would think
there are only two
directions
in which to walk

yet, some pause,
creating no direction --
lingering

here in the belly
of the city
mindless,

we push on
eager to reach
some place

mindless,
we cut ahead
squeeze into
closing doors --

leaving the music
behind.

By Mary E. Lohan

Note: Susan Keser is the violinist who I refer to. I've linked to one of her videos above, and here as well. 

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: After He Signs the Divorce Papers (2011)

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: After He Signs the Divorce Papers (2011): "It's over," he sobs into the phone, his mid-aged voice crackling, "And all she cares about is how much she g...

After He Signs the Divorce Papers (2011) -- A Poem

"It's over,"
he sobs
into the phone,
his mid-aged
voice crackling,

"And all
she cares about
is how much
she gets
and all I want is
for someone to
hold my hand
to care about me."

The next day,
he spots her car
runs over,
pulls the EZ pass
out of her window,

Tells her
"And go find
your own
health coverage too!"

"What are you doing?"
she yells, mouth
left agape.

Walking away,
he responds,

pass held high,
his back to her:

"Moving on!"

By Mary E. Lohan

Notebook - A Poem (2002)

Silver rings
   spiraling
holding leaves
   and lines,
a spine.

By Mary E. Lohan 

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: The Coming Fall, 2000 - A Poem

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: The Coming Fall, 2000 - A Poem: I sway on the swing -- lush grass, crests of leaves on the shuddering trees soothe me. By Mary E. Lohan

The Coming Fall (2000) - A Poem

I sway on the swing --
lush grass, crests of leaves
on the shuddering trees
soothe me.

By Mary E. Lohan

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: Paper Clip - A Poem (From "Speaking to the Darknes...

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: Paper Clip - A Poem (From "Speaking to the Darknes...: You may debate the significance once straight now twisted -- again and again and the time to pull metal or plastic into a pliable ...

Paper Clip - A Poem (From "Speaking to the Darkness")

You may debate
the significance

Poem: Paper Clip

once straight
now twisted --
again and again

and the time to pull
metal or plastic
into a pliable
yet rigid thread

to partner leaves
or sheets
for a time

and then,
      unbind,

no hole,

only a lingering
impression

once undone.


By Mary E. Lohan

Suburban Mornings - A Poem (from "Speaking to the Darkness")

New Jersey, USA

The first stirs
of morning
arrive as shrills,
whistles, tweets,
against a backdrop
of dewy, dark nothingness --
so blankety soft and still,
I can hear my own breath.

But as the world illuminates
from below,
burly groans emerge,
the whirls of man --
mowers, weeders,
saws and blowers,
their racket so loud
windows are mere
membranes now.

I must endure the
hours of manicuring,
primping,
the shaping of Nature,
into a green "couture"
landscape,
to be appreciated
by the few who
saunter or drive by.

By Mary E. Lohan

Rise of the Detractors - Trump Presidency Feb 2017 - Poem

About those who propagate Fake News

We are used
to the definition
of Patriot

one who protects the ship
at all costs
even if the cost is life

but now,
there are insurgents
amongst us

detractors
belittlers
back-biters

those who look like us
dress like us,
but are not like us

who'd rather
fill the boat with water
or gauge the boat with holes

claiming to inform

because of them, by and large,
we are divided amongst ourselves

friend against friend
kin against kin
more vulnerable to the foe.

By Mary E. Lohan

On an Amtrak Train to Utica - Poem (from "Four Folded Corners)

Facing south
our bodies pulled northward
the past enlarges

passed trees join more trees
joining more trees
expanding tribes of leaf-tops
flaming
or glowing gold

as we slide alongside the silver, rippling river
bark, stone, sun, clouds

a stubby, railway bridge
a boat,
its sails, tall and starched,
sits motionless
as if painted

moving pictures --
what is to come
passes in time
gone from view too soon.

By Mary E. Lohan

Note: About Utica

Jazz at Cornelia Street Cafe (NYC) - Poem (from "Speaking to the Darkness")

Indigo walls frame
a light, crimson stage
aflame --

we sit jammed
at tiny cafe tables
candlelit in a NY
basement dive,

the air is rich and
alive with aromas
Moroccan hummus,

we order
tiramisu martinis
vodka with ice,

as the hunched pianist
hammers, his knees
pendulating,
feet kicking,
his rhythms egging
the quintet to
weave and swoop,

trumpet, sax,
bass, drums, all
pulling us on
and in,

we swim
and ride the melodic
plaited waves
until the music
fades.

By Mary E. Lohan

Note: About Cornelia Street Cafe

Two Weeks into 2017- A Trump Presidency Poem

New business reins

two weeks,

four executive orders
build the wall,
close the borders,

remove Obama-care -- 

take it all back.

We, the People, 
shall reign,

We who have been forgotten
... forgotten no more.


- By Mary E. Lohan

Note: About President Donald J. Trump

Hate Deserves Nothing - Poem (Written after the Death of Daniel Pearl, From "Four Folded Corners")

Hate deserves nothing --
no headline
no broadcast

Not the ink to print a word,
or less, a point,

Not the breath it takes to utter
the smallest note,

Let it die quietly

Leaving
no epitaph
no echo
no seed.

Written by Mary E. Lohan 

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: Trump Presidency Two Weeks of 2017- Poem

Mary E. Lohan~Poetry: Trump Presidency Two Weeks of 2017- Poem: New business reins two weeks, four executive orders build the wall, close the borders, remove Obama-care --  take it all back. ...

Valentia Island, Ireland - A Poem

By Mary E. Lohan

We didn't plan
as usual...

We threw a bag
in the boot
and flew
a refurbished
gearbox in your
Corolla, straight
from Shannon
airport

I slept
on the journey
south, stops
in Killarney
galleries, pubs,
the ever changing
jewel of a sky
kept us
mesmerized
spry

yet, it was
Valentia island
I will forever
adore...

Our drive down
a picturesque
corkscrew road
your gearbox
grinding, the
car on a road
so pitched like
a roller coaster
car with no
guardrails,
we laughed
and squealed
downwards
toward the rocky
ocean swept
lighthouse
praising your
mechanic's
expertise --
Wow, were
we lucky!

It was a dream
that was real...

The drive upwards
the lush gardens
the radio tower
the astounding
mountains,
the odd candle
maker who
didn't speak

And the path
that lead
to the dinosaur
tracks?
Remember?

I was wearing high
heeled boots...

You invited me
to see,
to walk the steep
bumpy path
downwards,
your hand
outstretched
you lead, steadying
me as I pivoted
and rocked
and giggled..
you always
patient, always a
gentleman,

and while the
tracks were
unimpressive,
a laugh, it was
your
hand I will
remember
most of all...

steady,
reassuring,
ever present...
like your voice
guiding
me back up
the long
rocky path.

Note: About Valentia Island