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.
Words in this poem
- husky a.
- Abounding with husks; consisting of husks. [From Husk, n.]
- brawling a.
- Quarreling; quarrelsome; noisy.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- slugger n.
- One who strikes heavy blows; hence, a boxer; a prize fighter.
- bareheaded a.
- Having the head uncovered; as, a bareheaded girl.
- wrecking
- a. & n. from Wreck, v. Wrecking car (Railway), a car fitted up with apparatus and implements for removing the wreck occasioned by an accident, as by a collision.
- fighter n.
- One who fights; a combatant; a warrior. [AS. feohtere.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chicago is in the public domain. This text is taken from Chicago Poems, Wikisource; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Carl Sandburg, Chicago, in Chicago Poems (1916), text of Wikisource, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sandburg-chicago-poems/chicago.html, id L28850.
Form and metre
Chicago is 23 lines in 2 stanzas.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hog Butcher for the World, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; | 12 | /˘·/···/˘·/˘ |
| Stormy, husky, brawling, | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| City of the Big Shoulders: | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| 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. | 31 | ·····/˘··˘/······/˘/˘·····/˘··· |
| 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. | 30 | ······/˘··/˘········/˘······˘/ |
| 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. | 33 | ······/˘··˘/···/˘·/˘·/˘······/˘/˘ |
| 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: | 30 | ·/˘/˘············/˘··········· |
| Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. | 28 | ····˘/˘/˘·/˘·/˘····˘/·····/˘ |
| Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; | 35 | /˘˘/˘/˘˘/···/˘········/˘·/˘···/˘·/˘ |
| Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, | 25 | ······/˘·/˘/˘··/˘/˘···/˘˘ |
| Bareheaded, | 4 | ···· |
| Shoveling, | 2 | /˘ |
| Wrecking, | 2 | /˘ |
| Planning, | 2 | /˘ |
| Building, breaking, rebuilding, | 7 | /˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, | 19 | ···/˘˘/˘·/˘˘/˘····· |
| Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, | 20 | /˘/˘··/˘˘/˘···/˘··/˘ |
| Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, | 24 | /˘·/˘·················/˘ |
| Laughing! | 2 | /˘ |
| 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. | 44 | /˘·/˘/˘/˘/˘···/˘/˘····/˘·/˘/˘··/˘·/···/˘··/˘ |
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