Once Upon A Time In Chicago
once upon a time in chicago
fall came.
the leaves
half changed
colors/a myriad
of awe.
gorgeous
death.
those fell
to the ground
as the other
half changed.
it rained.
the beauty
muddied,
and we carried
the leaves
into our homes,
and places of business.
the soles of our shoes
remembered it
clearer than we did.
she never
did remember,
those things
we imprinted
in clay.
yet, it was
the times that mattered.
winter came.
snow fell
and iced over.
we made angels
when we weren’t keeping warm,
and the cold
got under our skin.
i always forgot
about winter.
when the sun comes up
i avoid depth
without twilight
when we gather
around my coffee table
before sleep,
because my brother
always passes
out on park benches,
when he drinks
himself into oblivion.
i think it’s motion sickness
from the bus ride
home from the south side.
he knows a girl down there,
pretty, she rocks an afro
and dangly earrings,
she has a poodle.
they usually rendezvous
at a classy jazz club
off 18th and ashland.
they always make a splash
on the scene.
i know because
i’ve gone with them
a few times.
they tend to be the center
of the dimly lit
hipster hangout,
with talk of their apocalypse
and classical music.
i always find him
in the early morning, and
as i shoulder his weight up the stairs
he rambles on about
some premonition
he had, the hazy
night prior.
juxtaposition
exchanges mean words beyond
she meant it
deciphering proves complicated
possibly
dark
billowing forms
a crescendo of silhouettes
light
apparitions
the grey in-between
a shadowy complexion
she never did show her face
though
profound in her actions
a timeline in the midst circles
she always knew where she was
going
far
Aaron M. Cassara is currently attending Harper College and is the literary editor of the school’s art and literature magazine. He has a growing collection of poetic works and is in the process of writing a collaborative Chicago themed short story collection. He hosts an open mic every other Thursday in Frohman’s, a café bellow his Humboldt Park apartment.
