When I think of you, I think of food:
That first steak – huge and bloody,
The chophouse brown ambience
Haunting the bridge;
The cheesy Wheel of Death
That defeated even Brian,
The Filet-O-Fish and fries we ate in Oak Brook and enjoyed,
The ribs we sucked and gnawed on Sheffield’s garden walk
The Fat Tires we swilled
To debrief and to decompress…
When I think of you, I see the Lake,
That seems not to be a lake,
Deep frozen, or mist-bound beyond the lighthouse
Arctic still even on dog-days.
I see my love braving the cold and
Apparently bound for Canada.
I remember late-night emails at the W,
Preparing for the deal that
Changed our lives for ever
When I think of you,
I see Lake Forest luxe
And Gold Coast widows,
The mid-western smiles,
The summer vibe
The caps and Cubs at Wrigley Field
The early morning chugging of the L
The forest of your architecture
And all that jazz;
I think of Wabash and the Wackers
The Magnificent mile
The palace of heels at Nordstrom
The smell of books at Powell’s
The shady avenues of the park,
The laughing with the friends we love,
I think of all these things you mean
And the moments you made for us,
Chicago.
June 13th, 2018
