In 1920 he came on a boat from Ireland and found his way through Ellis Island. He found a room in a boarding house

Every day the same play. The moment I rise, the first act begins, the same plot

The poor are hungry in America. Their numbers would fill stadiums throughout this prosperous land. And feral cats are running wild, eating songbirds in our yards,

After the Spring rain a dove on a Dogwood branch preens like a starlet

Six months ago an old black couple moved into an old brick house on a block of old white people. A dither erupted over the fences

I was warm and toasty, curled up, napping in amniotic fluid, without a worry when suddenly

The Sixties almost killed Will, a wasted man who sobered up long enough to vote for JFK. And he’d have voted for RFK if he hadn’t been killed as well.

Fifty years ago Jane got on a plane and flew away without saying good-bye. Her parents took her, I know.

He’s always believed people of every faith can live in peace together in America no matter what happens

Every evening, up in my rooom, I try to finish a poem but Chicago is hot and it’s better outside,

They’re the oldest couple my wife and I know and we’re no pups either. Peter out for a walk leans on his cane often

This Monarch butterfly dances from petal to petal red, yellow and orange sits for a while on each and then

The doctor tells Phil and his wif… he’s in pretty good health for a m… his age but he needs to exercise. And Phil says he agrees and then goes on to explain

Next to me on the train going home to the suburbs is another guy stuck in a suit reading his paper, a normal-looking guy

It was an ancient city. All the young people left as soon as they could but the old remained in their mortgaged huts