Chicago 1993

Commodity Trader to the World,
Tool maker, Stager of Expos,
Home of the Cubs, the Bulls, the Bears, the World Cup Soccer 1994,
Home of Poets and Writers and great many Magnificent Mile Shopping Sprees,
Home of the best downtown in America and Home of Cabrini Green,
Public Housing Despair and Little Kids shot by other Little Kids,
Home of Ethnicities, Religions, Universities, and best radio, on WBEZ,
Player with Financial Markets and the World's Air Traffic Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders, Padded with White Suburbs:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your
painted women under the neon lights shmoing the 708-ers and out
of town salesmen and conventioneers.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I
Have heard of the drive-by shooter kill and go uncaught to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of
Women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger and poverty.
And having answered so, I turn once more to those who sneer at this
My city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted skyline singing so proud to be
Alive and coarse and strong and cunning and green with park.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, shiny
Glittering building on glittering building, stunning foreign
Film on foreign film, theater of theaters, concert on concert,
World's best philharmonic, home of the blues and rock and folk
Here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Where can you get such fine pierogi, tabouli, rogan josh and afterwards
Stroll or rollerblade in the breeze for miles on the cool lakefront
Passing the totem pole and thousands of happy people walking, talking,
Playing soccer, chicago sixteen inch softball, ultimate frisbee,
Or just hugging, kissing, or making babies at dusk on the
Storm stone wall, Lake Michigan lapping at their feet, bikes as backdrop.
Fierce as a dog with a tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage
Pitted against the wilderness, traffic and pollution,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over her grid, laughing with sharp teeth,
Under the unconscious burden of destiny laughing as a young woman laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant teenager laughs who has never taken an SAT
Test before flunking out of getting into Northwestern,
bragging and laughing that under her wrist is the pulse, and under
Her ribs the heart of the people, and under her keyboards, the touch
That makes distant correspondents dream romance and send postcards,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked,
Sweating, proud to be Computer Chip Designer, Elevated Train Runner,
Maker of Stuffed Pizza not seen anywhere else in the World,
Player of Gospel and Jazz, and Obscene Charger of $1.75 at Skyway
For a few-minute thrill of bypassing Crawling Traffic on I-94.

Copyright © 1995 A Small Garlic Press. All rights reserved.
Created 1995/8/26. Updated last on 2008/5/2.