Shanty Irish Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

We lived next to a building
in Back of the Yards
full of shanty Irish

Mom was lace curtain Irish
in a block of shanty Irish

Back of the Yards
was literally located
south of the Stockyards

Summer days brought
the aroma of dead flesh

Poles and Slavs
worked in the abbatoirs
from Halsted to Ashland

Paydays at Armour Packing
filled the local saloons
from 39th to 55th Streets

Pershing Road on the north
Garfield Boulevard on the south
cottages and two-flats
trolley cars honking