A Poem For May (Part 2)

My pretty girl has such an active and creative brain. She finished part two of her poem yesterday, just one day after writing the first one! Just like the first one, I read it once, read it a second time, then took a few hours before reading it again. It's just amazing and I love how she captures our time together so vividly. Here is part two:

Part Two:

Saturday dawns and I wake you with a massage. My hands on your beautiful brown body, your veins bulge along your arms and your legs go on forever…

You say you have come around to enjoying the sounds of sirens from the street below…that harbinger of distress, yet a quintessential sound of the city (yes! Five times as essential ;-)…that and the faint rumble of the L train as it makes its way over Washington and Wabash.

14,000 steps…seven miles…was the toll of the day before. We convince ourselves today will be a lazy day. Just the Museum of Science and Industry by bus and an Uber to an early dinner. We dress lightly for the weather…who needs layers in a museum?

But, from the window of the bus on the Balbo bridge, we spot tiny Slavic cars…red and white Polish flags…signs of a protest with a line of police cars, sirens wailing approaching. Of course we pull the cord to signal the bus to stop and we rush to attend…there is so much to protest in this US of A.

But it is the line up of a parade!

Polish Constitution Day and the 134th annual Chicago parade to celebrate it! Outside of Poland, Chicago has the highest population of my people!

We marvel at the traditional costumes, the military uniforms, the children speaking Polish. And the faces!!! The beauty and distinctly slavic curves of Polish noses and almond shaped eyes. I said I’m so glad I never altered my nose and you agree.

I purchase flags, scarves, a sweatshirt and a hat.

We don our red/white gear and we blend. The wind blows and the sun offers no warmth and Chicago freezes us once again.

Back to the bus line we are offered free kielbasa and bread from Phil…who comes to share his culture, his food and his little red car on parade day. It is only after we take our last swallow that I question our decision to eat food from a stranger cooked on the street. “What could go wrong?” you say…and I laugh.

And that act of food offered by a stranger sums up the entire vibe of the parade…people coming together to share their commonality and their culture. Proudly.

Many false starts to find the bus stop…but we finally catch one that gets us to the museum just in time for the U-boat 505 tour.

Scott dramatically makes us a part of a U-Boat crew through his storytelling…hot bunking, buckets for bathrooms, 90 degrees is the coolest temperature on board, 120 degrees is the average. For 100 days.

Then off to Giordano’s! Mile high deep dish pizza and you in a seat by my side. I never forget to be grateful for the nearness of you.

The walk to the bus stop…6 minutes…54 degrees, feels like 35!

And a tally of 11,000 steps so far!

Back at our hotel, two hot chocolates to warm up and wondering if we could have chosen the Kentucky Derby winner by name. Journalism and Owen Almighty were my picks…and Burnham Square (how could it not be sitting in a town of Burnham designed buildings?)

You loved Sovereignty and would have won!

In our room we watch a post-sex video of us in the first months of our relationship. The love and lust oozes from the screen…and we look at photos…almost 11 years of memories.

And we view a show on the history of the Loop.

We are smarter for having seen it, appreciating the artisans and designers and builders and occupants.

Then off to the old Palmer House Hotel Lockwood Bar for a drink. You declare it the best Old Fashioned of your life. And I’m glad I’m there to be part of that memory.

We freeze on the walk back to our hotel, but you quickly warm me up with the sweetest, most loving and passionate sex!

Then Zzzzzzzzzz……lol.

Sunday morning and you give up your revolt against restaurant waffles. We walk to see the Wrigley and Tribune buildings…and visit The Picasso.

The sleeker, silvery, reflective Cloudgate (aka The Bean) in Millennium Park has stolen the hearts of outdoor sculpture enthusiasts (or maybe just people who enjoy seeing their own faces mirrored back at them from the art’s surface)

But, The Picasso now stands alone and lonely in Daley Square with nary a visitor…its rusty (by design) surface doesn’t reflect its visitors. And perhaps because of this he’s lost value in this Instagram selfie world.

But I love him…aardvark, Afghan dog, whatever he is…I love him. And just like with Parker, I hope the world will be kind to him.

Then a too quick goodbye at the train station and a ride home in which I still feel your hand in mine from the hours you spent holding it…and gazing from the train at all those spectacular buildings along Michigan Avenue, I see your face in every window.

#vacation #2025 #chicago #thisiswhatlovelookslike #polisharmy #picasso #themarina #chickenmarsala #thebean