Key To A City Poem by Salvatore Ala

"This is not a world where a man can stand alone."
Upton Sinclair, "The Jungle"

I found a lost key on a Chicago street
and thought someone
can't open an apartment door,
someone will be late for work,
someone might be homeless,
someone will go without food,
someone will die in the cold,
someone will walk all night
cursing the lock of their luck,
someone won't penetrate the fog,
cats will caterwaul to come inside.

I found a key on a Chicago street
and thought someone will cry chains,
someone will wander the rails,
someone will sleep on a bench,
someone won't be able to unlock
their desperation or addiction.
A gate will remain closed,
deliveries will be delayed.
A butcher will have to close
and the meat of the city rot.