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Windy City Tribute
Windy City Tribute
High above the city,
Bird’s eye view from Willis Tower
I see the grid of ‘Chicago-land’
With end-to-end traffic in rush hour.
From centuries past to present,
The landscape and skyline sing in time
About the raw history of the city,
And the pits a people had to climb.
So, we walk the Mile to take in the sights,
From the Museum Campus to Navy Pier
With taxis, trains and trolleys in-between
Shines light on the city’s frontier.
Yes, course the grid through a storied town,
Where Sue resides and statues dance alive
As one park to the next
Seagulls to pigeons soar to thrive.
The city captures the imagination
With graffiti marks all around
And architecture to take your breath away,
While you journey through downtown.
So take a gander at the shiny Bean
For an epic view of reflected glory,
As you walk through the city
And take in story after story.
Now, I must bid farewell
To a city on the Lake,
The city of open fire hydrants
To wash away the heat’s ache.
Yes, my dear Chicago,
I enjoyed our time to contribute
To the story God writes
Throughout time’s Windy City Tribute!
~By: AJ Wagoner
The Windy City from a water taxi on Lake Michigan
Afternoon Delight
Afternoon Delight
I took the afternoon train, Chi-town to Elgin,
An hour and a half of country-side green,
As I traversed to meet with a daughter of a King;
What did I observe, the nuggets to glean??
In short: everything.
Long answer: her eyes which attempted to meet mine,
Yet, I played the nerves to rove around her perfect blues
And glance at all the bottles of wine…
Then, the storms outside while we conversed
With the camera flashes from God and peals of thunder,
While the conversation of our journeys blend
To where her melodious voice takes me under…
Or the people around us in their fellowship
With one another and/or their task of service to the patrons
Full-course meals, spirits, desserts–
The tinkle of glass from behind the counter’s imaginations…
I notice: the length of her hair, her pretty smile,
And the way she hung on the words I spoke
To the smell and taste of the meal before me,
Every sensation out from behind the cloak…
The wind and coolness of God’s fresh breath
In gentle swirls around us,
An envelope of love and grace so true
The trees groaned under His weight, more or less…
The pretty, chill atmosphere of the basement of her house;
The fact we could have viewed a movie,
But chose to talk about life instead
And shared moments where words flew free…
The craftsmanship and creativity of her scrapbook,
Superb to excellent, her heart on page;
The way she sat on the couch,
Towards me a little, our minds to engage…
The thoughts of my mind in pinball motion
On how the whole afternoon/evening came about,
Even in Sherlock Holmes mode to puzzle out
If God had a secret ace up His sleeve with the whole night out…
How the rain fell on the car and windshield
In the meantime of our wait for a train;
The fine scratches on her glasses when we switched for a bit
To test each other’s eyesight domain…
The softness of her cheeks the moments I looked her way
The fine-tune poetry of the beat of my heart while with her,
A chorus of all stands well, perfect peace,
I’m safe, I can be me around her, which I prefer…
The thought, ‘dang she should be in Ireland alongside me;’
The momentary walk towards the house–absurd,
Then in the cab with an Indian
And my mind still 100 miles per hour with ‘what just occurred?’…
The vestiges of sleep enshroud my eyes late,
My mind still on full blast with the crossword puzzle of the whole night,
Unsure where the path leads down the line,
But delighted for the spontaneous afternoon delight.
By~AJ Wagoner
*Poem dedicated to my sister in Christ, Rachel Iverson for hanging out with me for a few hours. You’re an amazing, beautiful woman of God! Keep moving forward with the desires and passions He has placed inside you! Abba most definitely loves and adores you Rachel!! 
To Elgin and back again
