Sinner they came
Children playing
Wine drinking
Cheese eating
While old folks whisper
The smell of freshly baked breads
As the couples dance in the street
We cherished for it was only the simple us
Then came the bombs
Death rang
As children sang
Was no more, is no more…
we come
donning our best
our head and heart clear
with pure intention
we sit in silence
ceremoniously
lighting the calumet
in peace and harmony
letting our silence
speak
our peace offering
AP: 3rd place 2020
Submitted on June 28, 2018 for contest END OF JUNE 2018 STANDARD sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
Tired and torn, weary and worn,
male and female, straight and gay.
High and hooked, homeless and hungry.
Every creed, color, and kind.
looking for freedom to find.
Addicted to crime; running out of time,
From Clark Street, Madison and Western,
43rd and Calumet;
Beaten and broken; needing rehab,
many found the great escape.
04152007; (PS05162018Condensed for Contest, Rehabilitation, Julia Ward)
The Chicago Cure
By Curtis Johnson
They came tired and torn, weary and worn
They came male and female, straight and gay
They came high and hooked, homeless and hungry
They came addicted to alcohol, drugs, and crime
They came for one last try, for freedom to find
They came from the poor and the wealthy alike
They came from every creed, color, and kind
Some were sent against their will by the court
Some were brought in directly from the streets
Some fought off their excuses and knocked on our doors
Heroin took away everything good, and gave them misery and pain
Heroin locked them up, and bound them with chains
Heroin had become their god of choice
Heroin made them bow and worship
Some arrived lost and dying from Madison and Western
Others arrived beaten and broken from Clark Street
A few arrived with hope from 43rd and Calumet
Many found their way to the great escape
They found the Chicago cure before too late
They found new life in a home filled with love
cj04152007
Flaming red corvette...
Billow sailed dry-docked xebec
smoking calumet