Tall brick buildings, with attics and basements,
brown brick buildings, built in the 30s
surround the god, Steel Mill,
engulf the church, St Michael's Cathedral,
towering like a medieval castle over a peasant village.
South shore tracks of the Illinois Central,
olive drab metal with tan rattan seats
clunking, jolting through South Chicago
83rd Street to Roosevelt Road Station,
its steep zig-zag wooden stairs blackened with age.
Get up in the morning, work in the Mill,
go home when you're through, or go to the tavern.
Get up in the morning, work in the Mill,
rise and kneel in the Church on Sunday.