5/4/2016 0 Comments Three poems by Donal MahoneyVeteran's Day Is Every Day for Him “Screw the Vernal Equinox” is all Cootie Kelly ever says sitting triumphant with his foaming glass of Guinness on the last stool at Maggie's Stag & Doe Inn. A stranger might walk in or a friend of many years and ask Cootie for the time or if he has a match or where a restaurant is and his answer never varies. “Screw the Vernal Equinox” is all Cootie Kelly ever says even before he went to Korea and came home with medals and a lovely bride, a nice lady who makes her own kimchee, a piquant dish of pickled cabbage. Cootie likes it so much he brings a jar with him every day to eat with Maggie’s grilled sausages and hard-boiled eggs, soaking yolks in hot sauce first. A lunch like this washed down with plenty of foaming Guinness has set Cootie Kelly up for life. No wonder all he ever says is “Screw the Vernal Equinox.” A Mountain on the Lawn You have the back rent and come home from work and find everything in a mountain out on the lawn with the kids sitting on the curb crying unable to get in after school. You spend the night in the car with your wife and the kids. They’re all scared and you wonder what to do in the morning. You can’t go to work with everything on the lawn. Neither can your wife. What about the kids and school? Storage costs money but that’s your back rent or maybe rent for a new place. How would you move all that stuff anyway? Who would help? You tell your wife everything will all work out, both of you knowing it’s all just begun. A Predictable Life He was predictable all those years going home after work doing odd jobs around the house getting ready for work the next day. He remained predictable after the divorce going home after work doing odd jobs getting ready for work the next day. He was still predictable after he lost his job applying for benefits and looking for work doing odd jobs around the house looking for work the next day. He wasn’t predictable after his benefits ran out and the bank foreclosed and he had to sell the car and move to the streets. He sleeps in hallways now washes dishes in a diner for breakfast and lunch and a few dollars to spend at McDonald’s for dinner. He’s predictable again but he has no home works harder for less and can't vote this year. He has no address. Bio: Donal Mahoney, a native of Chicago, lives in St. Louis, Missouri. His fiction and poetry have appeared in various publications, including The Wisconsin Review, The Kansas Quarterly, The South Carolina Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune and Commonweal. Some of his work can be found at http://eyeonlifemag.com/the-poetry-locksmith/donal-mahoney-poet.html#sthash.OSYzpgmQ.dpbs=
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