Chicago Poems

By Carl Sandburg

"Chicago Poems" is an early collection of poems by American poet Carl Sandburg. This little volume includes the following poems: Chicago, Sketch, Masses, Lost, The Harbor, They Will Say, Mill-Doors, Halsted Street Car, Clark Street Bridge, Passers-by, The Walking Man of Rodin, Subway, The Shovel Man, A Teamster's Farewell, Fish Crier, Picnic Boat, Happiness, Muckers, Blacklisted, Graceland, Child of the Romans, The Right to Grief, Mag, Onion Days, Population Drifts, Cripple, A Fence, Anna Imroth, Working Girls, Mamie, Personality, Cumulatives, To Certain Journeymen, Chamfort, Limited., The Has-Been, In a Back Alley, A Coin, Dynamiter, Ice Handler, Jack, Fellow Citizens, Nigger, Two Neighbors, Style, To Beachey—1912, Under a Hat Rim, In a Breath, Bath, Bronzes, Dunes, On the Way, Ready to Kill, To a Contemporary Bunkshooter, Skyscraper, Fog, Pool, Jan Kubelik, Choose, Crimson, Whitelight, Flux, Kin, White Shoulders, Losses, Troths, Killers, Among the Red Guns, Iron, Murmurings in a Field Hospital, Statistics, Fight, Buttons, And They Obey, Jaws, Salvage, Wars, The Road and the End, Choices, Graves, Aztec Mask, Momus, The Answer, To a Dead Man, Under, A Sphinx, Who Am I?, Our Prayer of Thanks, At a Window, Under the Harvest Moon, The Great Hunt, Monotone, Joy, Shirt, Aztec, Two, Back Yard, On the Breakwater, Mask, Pearl Fog, I Sang, Follies, June, Nocturne in a Deserted Brickyard, Hydrangeas, Theme in Yellow, Between Two Hills, Last Answers, Window, Young Sea, Bones, Pals, Child, Poppies, Child Moon, Margaret, Poems Done on a Late Night Car, It Is Much, Trafficker, Harrison Street Court, Soiled Dove, Jungheimer's, Gone, Dreams in the Dusk, Docks, All Day Long, Waiting, From the Shore, Uplands in May, A Dream Girl, The Plowboy, Broadway, Old Woman, The Noon Hour, 'Boes, Under a Telephone Pole, I Am the People, the Mob, Government, Languages, Letters to Dead Imagists, Sheep, The Red Son, The Mist, The Junk Man, Silver Nails, and Gypsy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781420908718

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He is the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg was widely regarded as “a major figure in contemporary literature,” especially for his volumes of collected verse, including Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920). He enjoyed “unrivaled appeal as a poet in his day, perhaps because the breadth of his experiences connected him with so many strands of American life,” and, upon his death in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson said about the writer: “Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America.”

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CHICAGO POEMS

BY CARL SANDBURG

A Digireads.com Book

Digireads.com Publishing

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3109-9

Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-0871-8

This edition copyright © 2012

Please visit www.digireads.com

PREFATORY NOTE

Some of these writings were first printed in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, Chicago. Permission to reprint is by courtesy of that publication. The writer wishes to thank Harriet Monroe and Alice Corbin Henderson, editors of Poetry, and William Marion Reedy, editor of Reedy's Mirror, St. Louis, whose services have heightened what values of human address herein hold good.

CONTENTS

PREFATORY NOTE

CHICAGO POEMS

CHICAGO

SKETCH

MASSES

LOST

THE HARBOR

THEY WILL SAY

MILL-DOORS

HALSTED STREET CAR

CLARK STREET BRIDGE

PASSERS-BY

THE WALKING MAN OF RODIN

SUBWAY

THE SHOVEL MAN

A TEAMSTER'S FAREWELL

FISH CRIER

PICNIC BOAT

HAPPINESS

MUCKERS

BLACKLISTED

GRACELAND

CHILD OF THE ROMANS

THE RIGHT TO GRIEF

MAG

ONION DAYS

POPULATION DRIFTS

CRIPPLE

A FENCE

ANNA IMROTH

WORKING GIRLS

MAMIE

PERSONALITY

CUMULATIVES

TO CERTAIN JOURNEYMEN

CHAMFORT

LIMITED

THE HAS-BEEN

IN A BACK ALLEY

A COIN

DYNAMITER

ICE HANDLER

JACK

FELLOW CITIZENS

NIGGER

TWO NEIGHBORS

STYLE

TO BEACHEY, 1912

UNDER A HAT RIM

IN A BREATH

BATH

BRONZES

DUNES

ON THE WAY

READY TO KILL

TO A CONTEMPORARY BUNKSHOOTER

SKYSCRAPER

HANDFULS

FOG

POOL

JAN KUBELIK

CHOOSE

CRIMSON

WHITELIGHT

FLUX

KIN

WHITE SHOULDERS

LOSSES

TROTHS

WAR POEMS (1914-1915)

KILLERS

AMONG THE RED GUNS

IRON

MURMURINGS IN A FIELD HOSPITAL

STATISTICS

FIGHT

BUTTONS

AND THEY OBEY

JAWS

SALVAGE

WARS

THE ROAD AND THE END

THE ROAD AND THE END

CHOICES

GRAVES

AZTEC MASK

MOMUS

THE ANSWER

TO A DEAD MAN

UNDER

A SPHINX

WHO AM I?

OUR PRAYER OF THANKS

FOGS AND FIRES

AT A WINDOW

UNDER THE HARVEST MOON

THE GREAT HUNT

MONOTONE

JOY

SHIRT

AZTEC

TWO

BACK YARD

ON THE BREAKWATER

MASK

PEARL FOG

I SANG

FOLLIES

JUNE

NOCTURNE IN A DESERTED BRICKYARD

HYDRANGEAS

THEME IN YELLOW

BETWEEN TWO HILLS

LAST ANSWERS

WINDOW

YOUNG SEA

BONES

PALS

CHILD

POPPIES

CHILD MOON

MARGARET

SHADOWS

POEMS DONE ON A LATE NIGHT CAR

IT IS MUCH

TRAFFICKER

HARRISON STREET COURT

SOILED DOVE

JUNGHEIMER'S

GONE

OTHER DAYS (1900-1910)

DREAMS IN THE DUSK

DOCKS

ALL DAY LONG

WAITING

FROM THE SHORE

UPLANDS IN MAY

DREAM GIRL

PLOWBOY

BROADWAY

OLD WOMAN

NOON HOUR

'BOES

UNDER A TELEPHONE POLE

I AM THE PEOPLE, THE MOB

GOVERNMENT

LANGUAGES

LETTERS TO DEAD IMAGISTS

SHEEP

THE RED SON

THE MIST

THE JUNK MAN

SILVER NAILS

GYPSY

CHICAGO POEMS

CHICAGO

Hog Butcher for the World,

Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight

Handler;

Stormy, husky, brawling,

City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I

have seen your painted women under the gas lamps

luring the farm boys.

And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it

is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to

kill again.

And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the

faces of women and children I have seen the marks

of wanton hunger.

And having answered so I turn once more to those who

sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer

and say to them:

Come and show me another city with lifted head singing

so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.

Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on

job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the

little soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning

as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

Bareheaded,

Shoveling,

Wrecking,

Planning,

Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with

white teeth,

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young

man laughs,

Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has

never lost a battle,

Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.

and under his ribs the heart of the people,

Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of

Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog

Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with

Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

SKETCH

The shadows of the ships

Rock on the crest

In the low blue lustre

Of the tardy and the soft inrolling tide.

A long brown bar at the dip of the sky

Puts an arm of sand in the span of salt.

The lucid and endless wrinkles

Draw in, lapse and withdraw.

Wavelets crumble and white spent bubbles

Wash on the floor of the beach.

Rocking on the crest

In the low blue lustre

Are the shadows of the ships.

MASSES

Among the mountains I wandered and saw blue haze and

red crag and was amazed;

On the beach where the long push under the endless tide

maneuvers, I stood silent;

Under the stars on the prairie watching the Dipper slant

over the horizon's grass, I was full of thoughts.

Great men, pageants of war and labor, soldiers and workers,

mothers lifting their children—these all I

touched, and felt the