Saturday, August 11, 2012

Goodbye, Chicago

If you drained the lagoon
In Humboldt Park
There you'd find my still beating heart
Next to no fish, no love letters, no wishes
Half-buried treasures left behind by dumb kids
Who had no idea how to swim

If you scraped off the gum
From Wrigleyville's streets
You'd not have enough to hold onto me
Slow buses, fast trains, stand-by planes
Take me back to faces in pictures
Still not knowing the things I don't know

If you washed off the scent
Of Clark and Balmoral
You'd never suspect what an animal I am
Fur drenched, hunger gone, thirst quenched
Hibernation takes over
I can't recognize my own face