SUMMER IN CHICAGO
this is summer in chicago and this
is how we live. roughened feet pound
on burning sidewalks in pursuit of
safety, a staccato beat screaming of
panic and fear but never shock because
this is summer in chicago and this
is how we live. the tune of an ice cream
truck winds through the streets, steadily
tinkering on under the jagged rhythm of
relentless gunshots, a broken record
playing through the night because this is
summer in chicago and this is how we
live. a city of madmen wondering if
they can live to see the next sunrise, a
city of mamas sitting ’round the corner
waiting for their children to come home, a
city of gamblers tossing a coin every
time they leave the house. it is a matter
of life and death and this is how we live
because it is summer in chicago.
—from 2019 Rattle Young Poets Anthology
__________
Why do you like to write poetry?
Emmy Song: “I have been writing poetry for three years and enjoy doing so because poetry is a beautiful medium to express myself. There are no boundaries, no rules. In poetry, I can be unapologetically myself.”
