'Jimmy from across the street' by Donal Mahoney

Jimmy from across the Street


I take my wife to dinner
at a fancy place for us
to talk about money
because stocks have a virus
and we should move 
money into silver and gold
in case we don’t die before 
that rainy day comes


but first she asks 
did I hear about Jimmy 
from across the street
and I say he’s out of work
two months or more 
and she says his wife’s 
lost her job too and they
have kids in private school
shouldn’t we do something


and I ask what can we do
because Jimmy would never
take any help and she says 
we could put cash in an  
envelope in his mailbox
at night and he wouldn’t 
know who to blame  


just as something gross 
on the half shell arrives
at our table with sauces 
and I drop the whole idea 
of talking about money 
we’re lucky enough to have. 
Stocks go up and go down
and jobs are lost and found.
We talk about Jimmy
from across the street
the rest of the night.




Donal Mahoney