DARK CHICAGO

chicago is a dark place now
the winds blow and leaves are plastered to the concrete
soon the hawk will get meaner
with the death freeze
dirty men will gather at blackened garbage cans
ablaze with old newspapers and wood
with cold, calloused hands dressed in fingerless gloves
and homeless people will die in alleys
their pet cats eating out their eyeballs
for sustenance and survival
loyalty be damned

taverns and shooting galleries will relieve the pain
just like they did in the summer
for those lucky enough to have a few bucks
but winter is meaner here in the city of big shoulders
and wayward drunks and addicts will join the homeless
frozen stiff in the alleys

michigan avenue will put on a grandiose display
red and gold ornamments and ribbons will frame displays
of opulence
and people of means in furs and cashmer coats
will laugh and celebrate good fortune
and the wealthy will converse in grand rooms with mahogany covered walls
plotting and scheming
like clawed felines
waiting for dead carcassses to feed on
and their dark dreams will be fulfilled
in the dark winter of chicago
as they sing songs of comfort and joy