Big Shoulders:
This Was Her Home
Janet Kuypers
2/1/24
This poet went to Carl Sandburg high,
but her friend Brian lived further south,
and one summer day she sat in his car
as he excitedly told her he wanted
to show her something... She didn’t
know where they were going; her
tension mounted as his anticipation
grew, driving her farther south and east
than either one of their high schools.
Remember, this was back in the day
when Tinley Park was not congested
and there were still abandoned blocks
before the town was under construction
and ugly buildings littered the landscape...
Brian finally pulled over, told her to
get out of the car, and they walked
though gravel until trees cleared at one
small spot along the horizon. He stopped.
“Stop, look over there,” he said as he
pointed his fingers to the tiny space
between the trees. This poet from
Carl Sandburg high saw the skyline
of downtown Chicago, with high-rises
glistening like diamonds in the rough.
This Chicago skyline was just south
of where Carl Sandburg once lived.
This poet smiled, stared a while, and
made the decision right then and there
that this was her destination. This
was where she was meant to be. She was
not there yet, but this stormy, brawling,
city of big shoulders, this was her home.
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