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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.

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Jannie Breedt

Date: 5/10/2017 11:52:00 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?

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 5/11/2017 10:08:00 PM

Bonsoir Jannie, thank you for your visit and your wonderful comments. See you on your page:)

Pin Dew

Date: 5/3/2017 2:51:00 PM

Wow..

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 5/3/2017 10:03:00 PM

Thanks, Pin:)

Darlene De Beaulieu

Date: 4/28/2017 8:08:00 PM

Anne-Marie, hello. I have enjoyed this lovely love poem. It made me smile. A 7

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/29/2017 11:32:00 AM

I am truly happy Darlene that it brought a smile on your face:)

Curtis Johnson

Date: 4/28/2017 1:18:00 AM

Hi Anne-Marie. I love this. There are many Rondja pearls out there. Thanks for the memory of one of them.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/28/2017 8:42:00 PM

And thank you so much Curtis for your kind words.

Debbie Duncan

Date: 4/22/2017 11:42:00 PM

nicely done, thank you for the comment on my She Slept :)

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/23/2017 7:23:00 AM

And thank you for your kind comment on this visit Debbie:)

Agnes Krampe

Date: 4/22/2017 7:35:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/23/2017 7:07:00 AM

Thank you so very much Agnes, I really appreciate your kind review:)

James Inman

Date: 4/22/2017 7:23:00 AM

A moment can sometimes change a life.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/23/2017 7:06:00 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:)

Darren White

Date: 4/19/2017 8:35:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 7:32:00 PM

Thanks Darren, your wonderful comments mean a lot to me:)

Anil Deo

Date: 4/19/2017 7:18:00 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

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 7:30:00 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:)

Anil Deo

Date: 4/19/2017 6:53:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 7:08:00 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:)

Kudzai Mhangwa

Date: 4/19/2017 6:08:00 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!

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 6:58:00 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:)

Anil Deo

Date: 4/18/2017 5:17:00 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

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 6:40:00 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:)

Anil Deo

Date: 4/18/2017 5:15:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 5:51:00 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.

Connie Marcum Wong

Date: 4/18/2017 4:03:00 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 ; )

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 5:30:00 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:)

Emile Pinet

Date: 4/18/2017 3:09:00 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

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/19/2017 5:13:00 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:)

Robert Lindley

Date: 4/18/2017 1:18:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/18/2017 2:41:00 PM

Robert, I am deeply deeply touched and so happy for you. I also very much look forward to seeing your future creations:)

Arthur Vaso

Date: 4/17/2017 9:43:00 PM

You are a pearl for writing this!

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/17/2017 11:02:00 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':)

Doug Vinson

Date: 4/17/2017 4:55:00 PM

Makes me smile too, Anne-Marie. A good view of a person not in the easiest of circumstances.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/17/2017 10:53:00 PM

That young woman was so kind, graceful and attentive that she stood out . . . and there was nothing obsequious about her:)

Lisa Ricci

Date: 4/17/2017 3:08:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/17/2017 9:00:00 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:)

Lisa Ricci

Date: 4/17/2017 2:34:00 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.

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/17/2017 3:04:00 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:)

Maureen McGreavy The Insolent Rib

Date: 4/17/2017 12:46:00 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

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/17/2017 2:54:00 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.

Kim Rodrigues

Date: 4/17/2017 9:12:00 AM

Wonderful story! Love the title too!

Anne-Marie Coreggia
Date: 4/17/2017 2:43:00 PM

Thank you Kim for your kind comments.