O Canada

From his first two weeks

in Kindergarten, Eugene

was told he wasn’t college

material and should work

with his hands. I’d like to tell

you he had a gift,

aside from perseverance,

but he didn’t. At 16 he bought

a beat-up VW Beetle,

more rust than steel,

and called her Canada.

He’d sing “O Canada”

as he tried to rebuild the engine.

He said that McNamara had his

name and birthdate on his desk.

“In 704 days, I’m off to Nam.”

He scrounged nickels and dimes

to buy belts and plugs and tires,

but for all his effort,

not one of us ever heard

that car kick over.

On day 700, he caught a Greyhound

to Montreal. He taught number theory

at McGill for 30 years.

He comes home now and again—

heads right to work on the Beetle—

snatches of O Canada escaping the hood.