A Chicago Pearl

A Chicago Pearl She put her dreams on hold but carries them up proudly as she serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, six days a week to make ends meet; she’s a realist who doesn’t recoil from pain or regrets; she faces them head on yet she likes the blues because they soothe her bruised life that sometimes feels stagnant. She awaits a new start and the rain in her head is held tight, she will not be defined, nor resign herself to scattered dreams. She hangs firm in her mind to these blooming flowers she saw in a terra cotta pot on her way to work this morning; like them she’s growing stronger in her voice and in her step. Tonight they’ll light candles in the dark “You’re a Chicago Pearl, Rondja!” he said as she topped his coffee cup; she briefly held his gaze, and then let out the broadest of smiles.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

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Breedt Avatar
May 10, 2017 at 11:52 AM
Hi Anna-MarieFound this humdinger on the list of 100 best and certainly pleased to find this gem. My first visit to you. Congrats for being up there. See ya round the next bend then?
Coreggia Avatar
May 11, 2017 at 10:08 PM
Bonsoir Jannie, thank you for your visit and your wonderful comments. See you on your page:)
Dew Avatar
May 3, 2017 at 2:51 PM
Wow..
Coreggia Avatar
May 3, 2017 at 10:03 PM
Thanks, Pin:)
De Beaulieu Avatar
April 28, 2017 at 8:08 PM
Anne-Marie, hello. I have enjoyed this lovely love poem. It made me smile. A 7
Coreggia Avatar
April 29, 2017 at 11:32 AM
I am truly happy Darlene that it brought a smile on your face:)
Johnson Avatar
April 28, 2017 at 1:18 AM
Hi Anne-Marie. I love this. There are many Rondja pearls out there. Thanks for the memory of one of them.
Coreggia Avatar
April 28, 2017 at 8:42 PM
And thank you so much Curtis for your kind words.
Duncan Avatar
April 22, 2017 at 11:42 PM
nicely done, thank you for the comment on my She Slept :)
Coreggia Avatar
April 23, 2017 at 7:23 AM
And thank you for your kind comment on this visit Debbie:)
Krampe Avatar
April 22, 2017 at 7:35 AM
Anne-Marie, I love this poem. A seven and fave. Your vivid description makes me SEE the woman, and I love the metaphors you use. "Bruise life" is awesome.
Coreggia Avatar
April 23, 2017 at 7:07 AM
Thank you so very much Agnes, I really appreciate your kind review:)
Inman Avatar
April 22, 2017 at 7:23 AM
A moment can sometimes change a life.
Coreggia Avatar
April 23, 2017 at 7:06 AM
She certainly touched my life. The greatest lesson we learned that day is that there are people who are striving for kindness and decency and won't let circumstances define them (we were staying in a fairly poor part of town and a fight broke out in the night at our nearby hotel) . . . I sometimes like to live on the edge:)
White Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 8:35 AM
This is absolutely wonderful, what a great tribute! The words you have used for this, they are just words, but together they paint this gentle, warm picture. I love this. 7 from me.
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 7:32 PM
Thanks Darren, your wonderful comments mean a lot to me:)
Deo Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 7:18 AM
I have not lied to you yet; but Jesus thinks of you as His princess.We are harsher critics of ourselves ... whether u go to curch or not, NEVER think of yourself less. God forgave my sins 2000 yrs ago, when every one of my sins were in the future. Nothing we ever do shocks God/Jesus. So forgiving oneself is soul-restoring. Had to preach this truth. Self-condemnation is a sin: one becomes as religious as Pharisees & Muslims. Yes, I say it: crit yourself & become a closet Muslim.Jesus=2d chance
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 7:30 PM
Anil, my friend, I am a truly faithful non-believer and do not seek to find a religious meaning to life; now many of my friends are Christians, one of my daughters is a Hindu, and my other daughter's friends are Hindus or Muslims. You see, I am surrounded by a true religious melting pot but that doesn't alter my position:)
Deo Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 6:53 AM
Anne-Marie, we wish we all were lapsed Christians like U. Doctrine & rituals may get in the way of folk who love Jesus, & they quit Church. Then priests do have fun with young parishioners ... Catholic & Protestant, daughter or neighbor. So, I think you are walking with Jesus, whether u attend a church or no. Nazis & Chinese Christians even now, attend Church for their reasons, not God's. If my church loves doctrine more than our Trinity, it's goodbyeville with me! Love your HEART Marie-Anne.
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 7:08 AM
And I do love your heart too Anil. You show so much understanding; maybe if I had known someone as accepting as your are at the time I started questioning, I wouldn't have ended so deeply irreversibly lapsed:)
Mhangwa Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 6:08 AM
Anne-Marie! You waste no words at all with your wisdom and open heart! Reading your work is such a divine experience! I love it so much!
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 6:58 AM
Kudzai, it is so kind of you to say. For wisdom I am still trying and falling short many times, but the road is not over yet:)
Deo Avatar
April 18, 2017 at 5:17 PM
i read some of the comments before mine ... and u see, i'm not the only fan of your Jesus-like heart! shalom, shalom.Anil Deo
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 6:40 AM
OK Anil, I have to confess I was raised in the Catholic faith, and even though I am no longer religious I believe that there is a core of goodness within each and everyone of us and sometimes, like in Rondja's case, it glows:)
Deo Avatar
April 18, 2017 at 5:15 PM
Anne-Marie, unassuming here, U say wonderful things always. Thx for being a balanced, loving person, with the talent of US cultural giant, Carl Sandburg. He collected hobo stories, rode the rails, and got the Pulitzer for biographies of Lincoln.I ought not be surprised that WPA value of recording ordinary heroes & heroines live on in some like yourself. I am so blessed to read about Rondja, with joie 'd vivre, & no resentment. God be praised.
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 5:51 AM
My dear friend, allow me to say first thank you for your incredibly kind comments but, to my disgrace, I must admit that, even though I have heard of Sandburg, I have actually never read anything by him. Trust me Anil, I will remedy this . . . something tells me I have a lot to learn.
Marcum Wong Avatar
April 18, 2017 at 4:03 PM
Poems this beautiful make me cry Anne-Marie. This is a special tribute to a person who briefly touched your life but made an impression in such a beautiful way to inspire this poem. I love it! A FAVE! 7 ; )
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 5:30 AM
Thank you Connie for your wonderful comments and rating. I have 2 daughters fairly close in age to this young woman, so I guess that heightened my sensitivity, but still, she's is one of these people who does their job with such graciousness that they makes you feel like coming back:)
Pinet Avatar
April 18, 2017 at 3:09 PM
You tell a story with such freshness and reality that it soon attaches itself to our reality and we take partial ownership of the emotions poured forth. Emile. #7
Coreggia Avatar
April 19, 2017 at 5:13 AM
Bonjour Emile, thank you so much for your comment; I really wanted to try and make her come to life on the page for a brief moment, and I am glad to see that she touched you:)
Lindley Avatar
April 18, 2017 at 1:18 PM
I agree with Arthur, you are a pearl. This gem could have only been written by one with such a tender and loving heart that it sees clearly the good and bad others are facing and living with in their daily lives! Friend, that is a true poetic heart.. A7 and a fav for me, as this poem has inspired me to actually write today. PREVIOUSLY I HAD POSTED AN OLD POEM WRITTEN OVER FORTY YEARS AGO.
Coreggia Avatar
April 18, 2017 at 2:41 PM
Robert, I am deeply deeply touched and so happy for you. I also very much look forward to seeing your future creations:)
Vaso Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 9:43 PM
You are a pearl for writing this!
Coreggia Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 11:02 PM
Arthur, that is so sweet of you to say, but the truth is I just wanted to write about that young woman's kind disposition and spirit, and she happened to work in a restaurant called 'Pearl's Place':)
Vinson Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 4:55 PM
Makes me smile too, Anne-Marie. A good view of a person not in the easiest of circumstances.
Coreggia Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 10:53 PM
That young woman was so kind, graceful and attentive that she stood out . . . and there was nothing obsequious about her:)
Ricci Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 3:08 PM
Hi Miss Anne-Marie. Yes, I can see that but I also like to think of that ending glance and smile as love. Sorry for that. I also like to think they were a couple and that he was waiting for her shift to end. Again sorry for that. Oh the mind... Have a wonderful night.
Coreggia Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 9:00 PM
Don't you dare be sorry for all the wonderful things you read into this, I love it because everyone's approach & experience is different, and your comment enriches what I wrote and enriches me, Miss Lisa Romance:)
Ricci Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 2:34 PM
Oh Anne-Marie this is beautiful. Good Afternoon. Sorry it took so long to return to your page. This love story is so endearing. And how special he thinks and says 'chicago pearl" Love makes the world a better place. Allow me to say bless the working girl and the couple in love with each other. Wonderful in every way. Well done entirely. Have a great night.
Coreggia Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 3:04 PM
Bon après-midi Lisa and thank you so much for your 'loving' comments. Actually, the client talking to her was just an 'habitué' appreciative of her kindness:)
Pigeon Tart Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 12:46 PM
Fabulous write Anne-Marie, I love it, "...and yet she likes the blues because they sooth her bruised life that sometimes feels stagnant"...one of the best lines I have ever read, ever :) 7 & fave xomo
Coreggia Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 2:54 PM
Wow, Maureen, I love your enthusiasm for that line. I do not even know if she listens to the blues, but I like to think she does. I went back to the restaurant to talk to her briefly (she was so busy) and tell her I was going to write a poem about her . . . that's when she broke into the warmest smile.
Rodrigues Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 9:12 AM
Wonderful story! Love the title too!
Coreggia Avatar
April 17, 2017 at 2:43 PM
Thank you Kim for your kind comments.
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