'An Unusual Woman Not So Unusual' by Donal Mahoney

​An Unusual Woman Not So Unusual
 
Linda's on TV this morning
being interviewed by
someone who specializes in
interviewing unusual people.
Linda’s a smart woman but
her story isn’t that unusual.
There are more like Linda than
folks would like to think.
 
She’s in love with a man
in prison for life for a murder
he says he didn’t commit.
Linda was his pen pal till 
she flew out to see him
on a two-week vacation.
It was love at first sight.
 
She has two degrees
and makes a good living
but until now she has not
met the right man.
She sends her man books
and magazines
and he calls her collect
twice a week and talks
for an hour or more.
 
Linda wishes he had
a chance to be paroled
but that’s not the case.
He says his attorneys
are filing an appeal.
 
Linda's brother says
if she had met this man
in a cafe at work she
might have walked away.
Who knows, either way,
but he’s locked up for life
and hasn't hurt her the way
other men have so often.
 
Linda tells the interviewer
with a shy smile she knows
this man is hers for life.
A collect call from him
is better than a hug
from any other man.
 
 
Donal Mahoney