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A Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
song blares from my car speakers
while I drive to my mother’s
west suburban bungalow
after a short trip to Aldi’s.
The lyrics about lost
loves ring out
unexpected, streaky
tears on my cold,
wrinkled cheekbones.
“Life is so unfair,”
I shout at the radio,
“Too many wasted days and nights.”
I don’t stop to consider
whether this same
soundtrack disturbs
the quiet daydreams
of other restless drivers
who drive around Chicago
trying to forget the loves
they lost in all
the same places.
Frank C. Modica is a cancer survivor and retired teacher who taught over 34 years. Frank’s first chapbook, “What We Harvest,” nominated for an Eric Hoffer book award, was published in 2021 by Kelsay Books. His second chapbook, “Old Friends,” was published in 2022 by Cyberwit Press.
THE CITY KEY 