Wednesday, January 06, 2016

GOLDEN ARCHES

by Gil Hoy


A woman sleeping at a McDonald’s restaurant in Hong Kong in October. Across East Asia, 24-hour McDonald's have become a sanctuary for the downtrodden, providing a warm, dry place to sleep. Credit Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times, Dec. 31, 2015


After birthday candle whites
 are blown out,
Kids all snug tucked
 in their beds,

Once Invisible down-and-outs
 retire to a corporate
Cash-cow Behemoth

For a good night's restless sleep,
 To stay warm for a while.

No other shelters available,
 No families of their own to turn to,

“McRefugees" of East Asia,
   With no other place to go.

On a good night: Feed on
  half-eaten Big Macs,
Chew on salty stale fries,

Lie down in a padded
 booth for comfort,

'Til just before dawn,
  the dominion call comes:

“Put on your shoes,
this is not your home.”

 Then just enough time
  to comb your black hair,

With a disposable fork--
and vanish.


Gil Hoy is a Boston trial lawyer, writer and poet. He studied poetry at Boston University, while receiving a BA in Philosophy and Political Science. Gil received an MA in Government from Georgetown University and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. He served as a Brookline, Massachusetts Selectman for four terms. His poetry has appeared most recently in Third Wednesday, The Write Room, The Eclectic Muse, Clark Street Review and TheNewVerse.News.