Answer Now
I was just a boy
but I remember Hitler
at the start
and how too few
understood his plan to
do away with Jews.
I’m a codger now
certain that too few
understand ISIS
so let the word go forth
for all with eyes to see
and ears to hear:
We have another genocide,
this one more inclusive.
We must answer now
or else Christians, Jews
and Muslims too will keep
dying in the sand.
The Skinny on Fatty's Cafe
Here's the skinny on Fatty's Cafe,
a grubby diner on a snaky street
under the El in dark Chicago
where street lights flicker
and the hungry descend from
the flophouse above the store.
If you have a yen for a BLT
and Fatty is workin' the grill,
the hungry say don't go in,
be patient and wait outside
for Fatty's brother, Skinny,
to wield the spatula.
Skinny has a way with BLTs,
piling bacon and tomato high
on a triple decker, with a hint
of lettuce and a swipe of mayo
on all three slices of bread.
No extra charge to toast it
when Skinny's workin' the grill.
Ignore the rain, sleet or snow
and wait outside with the hungry
till Skinny starts flippin' the bacon.
He takes over at midnight when
Fatty flops into his Lincoln
and heads for his castle.
Then Skinny lays out the bacon
and the hungry outside march in.
Income Equality
Wilbur’s always lived
in the navel of society,
lost in the lint
of the middle class.
His parents lived there too.
So will his children if they
fail to win the lottery.
Not a problem for Wilbur.
From his navel he can
see the poor sweat
at jobs they died for.
When he looks up
he can see the rich bet
on stocks and then relax
with wine and caviar.
That's the way the world works.
Wilbur's father told him
it’s always been that way
and always will be.
And like his father
Wilbur knows the world
will always have its Castros
wanting to parcel out
what Donald Trump has.
No wonder, Wilbur says.
Income equality can’t reign
until the world ends or
pygmies play in the NBA.
Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
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