Contributor: Donal Mahoney

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I met a man with many wives
when I was selling pots and pans
door-to-door out West.

He owned a ranch
and wore patched overalls
with red suspenders plus

a cowboy hat above
a bushy black mustache.
We got to talking

at the General Store
and I asked him why
one wife wasn't enough.

He said, "You like fruit?"
"All but grapefruit."
"Understood," the fellow said,

"but every now and then
I bet you'd like a peach
instead of a banana or

an apple instead of an orange."
"Understood," I said.
"It's like pots and pans.

One pot's great for oatmeal
but you'll need a different one
for a fine ragout."


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Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.