Robert Donohue

BUT WAS IT...MURDER?

He came to change his beneficiary
And filling out a new insurance card
He put his girlfriend down, and not his wife.
There were no feminists back then, but when
Fran saw the card she was to notarize,
She didn’t like it, and when he was gone,
She had me keep the old insurance card.
I kept it in his file with the new.

Three weeks go by, we get a visit from
The girlfriend, and she told us he was dead.
She wanted the insurance, but both Fran
And I would tell her men say anything
And showed her the old card; it named his wife.
As for the other card, I tore it up.


Robert's YouTube reading of "But Was It...Murder?"


Robert confesses: I was inspired to write this poem when I heard my mother tell this story from when she worked in personnel. All of a sudden I was reminded of the tagline from Dateline, But Was It... Murder? The scenario certainly was suspicious, but was a crime committed, no one will ever know.

Robert Donohue's poetry has appeared in Aprosexia Lit, Theopneustos Magazine, and Ionosphere, among others. He lives on Long Island, NY and is a content reader for Still Here Magazine.