Plain Girl Pretty

Rose was a plain girl
from a small town.
She sang in the choir,
never missed Bible study,
left for the big city
after high school.

She worked nights
in a shanty diner
next to a bar where
working men gathered.
Depending on how much
the men had to drink
Rose looked appealing
but she ignored them all,
said they wanted what
she had to keep in case
she got married.

Marriage never happened
and the years soared by.
In her thirties Rose
became pregnant
to everyone’s surprise.
No one knew who
the father was and
Rose wouldn’t say.

Rose raised the boy,
put him through school.
On graduation day
her son asked her
who his father was.
She said his father was
the only man
she ever saw put
mayonnaise
on a hamburger.
It made her laugh.
And he was the only man
who ever told her
she was pretty.
Much better
than any tip.
His father
was a blind man
and he meant it.

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…