A City So Nice They Named It Twice

Maybe what people say is true.
It's the hub, the center, the fulcrum.
fount of power, wealth, culture,
and down-to-earth celebrity.
Diverse and eclectic
the city teems with energy
and opportunity
not to mention history.

But there is also
the ever-present company of trash,
the thin layer of slime
the seems to coat
every inch of concrete,
the press of population
and the crushing weight
of mere existence,
the stink of polluted water
and of bodies packed
on narrow sidewalks
and damp train platforms,
intriguing but somewhat gross,
like a grandparents' attic.

Give me the Chi
Give me the lake
and the L and unappetizing deep dish
Give me perpetually underperforming sports teams
and second run Broadway shows
Give me the folk of the Midwest
perhaps not cosmopolitan
but down to earth and mostly kind
Give me the indifferent bite of the winter wind
and the cool comfort of the summer breeze
Give me the sprawl.

We may always be the neglected sister
of the east coast giant
but they can keep it
Give me Chicago
where there's room to breathe
and space to dream.