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The following can also be found in the book Chicago Stories 1997. Click here to learn more, and to download a free electronic copy.

For Marc Smith

What I want you to do is push all the el tracks up about 100 feet
and build them so they zoom in and out of the buildings
build an entire second city up in the air
like utopias in 1950's science fiction comics
needle-nosed train cars and pastel colored uniforms

What I want you to do is rename all the buildings
not to reflect the companies who paid for them, but the gods who inspired them
so that when I am trudging along the sidewalk everyday, I can say
‘I need this messengered to Zeus right away'
or ‘today I'm temping in Venus'

And when I teeter
on the edge
of the Mighty Sears Tower
and gaze
down on you
like a giant, deadly flower
you hold me
like a baby
and I cringe, and I cower
‘cause I know your weaknesses
and I know your power

What I want you to do is kick out all the executives
sitting so close to heaven that they can literally reach out and scrape the sky
They never look out, they close their curtains, they don't deserve that spot
fill yourself with artists and poets and musicians
and others who would appreciate the view

And what I want, what I really want is for you to love me
I'd like the slightest indication that you are glad that I'm here
But that's not your style, is it, my big shouldered lover,
my windy flower, my hog-butchering whore
and I guess that's why I stay and love you even the more.

Copyright 1997, Jason Pettus. All rights reserved. This was published under a Creative Commons license; click here for details. Contact: ilikejason [at] gmail [dot] com.