Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHICAGO IN DECEMBER, by JEANETTE SELETZ


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHICAGO IN DECEMBER, by                    
First Line: The patient whining cry of a hebrew rag ...
Last Line: Any old clothes . . . To sell!
Subject(s): Poverty


Any old clothes . . . to sell!

The patient whining cry of a Hebrew rag peddler
Drifts up from the murk of the street.

Any old clothes . . . to sell!

Chicago.
The thick blue haze of Chicago.
The pore-clogging living smut of Chicago.
The drab sameness of old red brick buildings.
Dirty melting snow,
And rain . . . a thin drizzle, or dripping continuous, unending . . .

Any old clothes . . . to sell!

A tow-headed Anglo-Saxon child is playing
In the wet gutter
Utterly absorbed, utterly content.
An Italian's hardy-gurdy is cranking out
That sweet, melancholy old tune from Mignon . . .
Plaintive . . . homesick . . .
Somewhere on a corner;
Kennst du das land wo die citron blumen . . .

Yes, yes, dear brother, I know that land.

Any old clothes . . . to sell!

A twisted hungry cripple, with a cry in his voice
Is singing for pennies,
An incongruous love song,
In the alley below:

"In a little Spanish town . . . 'twas on a night like this!"
A street song and an anguished prayer.

Any old clothes . . . to sell!





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