LatinosUSA

A long passage of time and creativity are blended together in this 2nd poetry collection by Brian Mahoney.

Brian showcases changes in his own life and in society from the 2010s to the early 2020s. There is an authentic focus on the resonating power of one’s own memory, personal/professional milestones, relationships, failures, and self-actualization. At the book’s heart, Brian wanted to encompass a thread of his own experiences to reflect his personal and professional growth.

Brian’s poetry sheds light on fictitious situations as well as relatable modern experiences evolving as a young adult—whether it’s the tender transition out of college and feeling alone or becoming a father for the first time.

Discovering Sea Glass taps into what can make us feel vulnerable, curious, and whole.

Sample Poems

What I Should Have Said

Maybe silly thoughts 
Of a time machine
Won’t change our past one bit.
Maybe inhaling every painful detail
Of the present is not
Particularly kind.
The hardships, the sacrifices made in vain—inkblots
From before.
You and I—we tore out pages.
Tore out love,
Tore out hope.
Yet, we befriended a silent courage
Painted certainly to teach—instilled patience
To grieve greater worldly affairs.
Words are my maze,
But I wish to aim an arrow
On absolute amends—
Clearing out conscious dust
And torn up letters off the floor
So I may not walk alone
Out the door.
I may not fit the high bill, in your eyes,
To be brought home to the parents
And admired—
But a chance,
Just a chance
Would have made all the difference.

~~

Guitar Labor 

-Dedicated to Steel City Coffeehouse (Phoenixville, PA)

Those 7 p.m. sets. 
Mic test.

1…2…

The ceiling’s cobalt gown swallowed notes
Above a grizzled guitar player, 
Practicing intervals for his pen name’s label. 
	
He continues to carry cadences…

By day, the host sulks in a cubicle.
By night, he is the town’s David Gilmour
For a coffeehouse’s misfit clan. 

This host never acknowledged spiritual encounters;
His closest instance was said to be a Pearl Jam concert.
The circles of shadows filed in and out, 
Outnumbering the host’s half-steps. 

He cradles his body
Taming the unruly Gibson. 

I’m stirred in a silent booth not knowing 
The lights have dimmed. 
Electric haze.

I make side notes of sidetracked people:
Shape-shifting queens with deceptive gazes
And no concerns for speed. They are selling sins
To a smack-talking street cat
While wearing earrings in the shape of New Jersey.

The climb to fame
In café club dismay
Pits our struggling world
In one night’s rush. A rally of mullet barons 
And college dropouts
Yelling, “BEST NIGHT EVER!” 
Each and every hour. 

The host thanked Nashville muses
From country road commitments.
He succeeded in tonight’s after-hours rhythm.
  
A reverence for his constant composition, 
Snoozing and cruising 
Across unkempt bars. 
His most soulful decade earned 
Scarlet finger scars.

~~

Super Powers

We handcrafted our capes
From beach towels or drapes.
We color-coded our souls
From comic book dynamite.
We were just kids—
Tyler, Gavin, Schmidty, Jay, and me.
Anything was possible.

        Now it’s 20 years later. Schmidty died.
        Our beloved corner store closed down.
        Busy dust has settled
        In my kitchen cabinets.
        The alley cat eats more food
        Than I do.

More than ever, I dare ask
The rest of the mighty dream makers:
Do you conquer workday depression?

Tyler’s invisibility is now seclusion
        From a prior conviction. 
Jay’s only flight
        From a routine corporate conference
        Goes red eye
        From Vancouver back to misty Newark.

Gavin once breathed fire
        But now he’s trying to suppress
        Cigarette habits
        And the concepts of cancer.
We wanted to read girls’ minds.
        Now I read legal divorce papers.
        Her piercing blade of kryptonite.

There is no muscle, no agile way
To deflect the downpours.
Our estranged veins start to age
Faster than a comic book’s
Wilted and forgotten back page.

At times, I’m not so sure
There’s enough strength
To be human
Because every human falls.

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