Not as Bad as Nagasaki

Old Yoshiko in Tokyo can’t sleep
because her husband snores
so she sits in her kimono
and eats a few rice cakes

with a few sips of saké.
She thinks about the past
and then calls her daughter
in Chicago to remind her

that Truman’s bomb killed
almost all of her family.
Come home right away,
her mother tells her

as soon as you complete
your degree in chemistry.
Earthquakes and tsunamis
aren’t as bad as Nagasaki.

Donal Mahoney, nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, Donal Mahoney has had poetry and fiction published in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Some of his work can be found by clicking here…