In Which Mr. Mulligan Pays A Periodic Visit

His wife no longer argues the point
When he announces that Tommy is stopping by,
Simply bringing forth a woebegone sound
Reminiscent of a November wind wending its way
Through a stand of denuded poplars,
As she knows the upshot of his visits
(A couple days of hangovers where he is of little use to her,
An emptied refrigerator, a kaleidoscope of empties
Some knick-knack broken or missing)
Yet even she cannot deny that Tommy has his charms,
Even if they are fleeting, ephemeral things
Which tend to become muddled around the third beer.

They have moved well beyond round three
(This particular fight, Tommy muses in mock solemnity,
May need to go the full fifteen)
And while these visits have devolved into throwing hands
(Requiring, on one Do-you-remember-when? occasion,
A trip to the ER, by which time the anger
Had one-eighty'd into such raucous hilarity
That they would have been thrown out of the place
Had stitches not been required in both cases)
Tonight it is a boisterous good fellowship
Manifesting itself in something passing for singing
(Among his other foibles and follies,
The good Mr. Mulligan is notoriously tone deaf )
And the long-suffering missus leans out her window
Inquiring Could the donkeys stop braying for the moment?
A sentiment she regretted almost immediately,
As a cacophony of moos and squeals commenced forthwith,
Until such time as Tommy began howling to the skies,
Leading his genial and quite sodden host to opine
Why, Tommy, yer a true poet with that.
An opinion stopping the good Mulligan in his tracks,
A look flashing across his face
Residing somewhere between incredulity and epiphany,
But gone in a moment, and returning to the here and now
His lupine voice has gone a-gleaming,
And he says with a gentle and reflective tone
Belying some five decades of turmoil and tumult
We may have to at least consider the notion
Someone may duly note
That I was here and have done some considerable howling.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i am howling right now...this reminds me of a visit a few years ago with my grade school through high school buddy from Lockport.
talking about new and old...sometimes it seems weird...like we live several different lives.

And one can hardly catch up to the next.
and by the way W.k. my best friend's name was Tommy .

j.
j.

[Ken Simm.]

I am so excited to see you back I cn't review anything yet. I will be back as Arnie says.
In case you are under any misapprehension. Welcome back Old friend.

[Emily B]

Haven't we all done a little howling in our day? It was so good to read you here today :)

[W.k.kortas]

Counsel has advised me not to elaborate further.

[Emily B]

Counsel is right. What happened before social media should be left in the past.