January 2020
Author's Note: My first job after graduating from the University of Wisconsin was in Rockford, Illinois. Although only 60 miles apart,
the two cities were worlds apart. Rockford was a tough city, going the tough times, but living there made me stronger, in the end.
Rockford
Just three years
a mere fragment of my life
decades long gone
but I hold this little satellite
whirring through
the wide galaxy
of old thought
frail city
though it was
with its rapid decline
belted by the rust belt
walls built of brick
and downtown granite
cast cold shade
on winter sidewalks
all year long
the best restaurants
were wine-dark inside
some other sort of city
stands there today
but my Rockford is magic
we were all so alive
when we looked
each other in the eye
and I developed
a fondness even
for mirrors
waiting for some kind
of rain
to trickle down
from the flat rooftops
those heavy factories
used to have so many windows
but they were shuttered shut
except for the chiclet factory
remember the way
chiclets cornered themselves
into the flesh of our mouths
and we popped them in
one after another
©2020 Sylvia Cavanaugh
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