A City Poem (Poem a Day Challenge, Day 12)

A friend can laugh but keep the story
of silly stupors, on tangents we'd go,
in all our glitz and youthful glory
we'd blend with stars and steal the show.
And if one traveled too close to the sun,
the other reminded, it’s all in fun.

But, no!  You’re so much more than fun!
You filled a void both wide and deep.
A pressure valve released, I'd run
to magical trances on your streets.
For life, at times, we could not bear;
we needed a place and people to share.

Ah, yes! You were the place I'd share
with those who needed serenity, too.
Together we rambled, a nightly affair,
until we had to pay our due.
When daybreak brought us back to woe,
this city was both my friend and foe!

A City Poem #2

CHICAGOU

Prairie of Potawatomi pride
Discovery of Domingan and du Sable
A Fort on the river

Blood of the Black Hawk Wars
Ashes of the great conflagration
Second and windy

Hub to railroads
Liar to immigrant dreams
The White City

Home of Hull House
Riots of Haymarket Square
The Jungle

The Race Riots
The White Sox
The Black Sox

Wrigley Field curses
Super Bowl Sweetness
Three-peat, Three-peat Bulls

Oprah

Skyscrapers and projects
Gardens and ghettos
Limos and cabs and buses and bikes
The El

Gourmet and comforting
Irish, Italian, Mexican, Polish,
Asian, Ukranian, German,
Jamaican, Ethiopian, Puerto Rican...

Chicagoan.