One Monday afternoon
I found a quarter on the sidewalk
the state on it read Illinois
I didn't think anything of it
so I put it in my pocket
I went to the grocery store
I was craving ice cream really bad
I got my change back in quarters
Each one had the state of Illinois on them
I was watching television late that night
distracted by a movie filmed long ago
Out of nowhere my movie was interrupted
by a commercial advertising the sights of Chicago

The next morning while driving to work
I was in a heated discussion with a friend
As I stopped at a red light
the radio blasted that Chicago commercial again
As my week went on it seemed that signs of Chicago were everywhere
On Tuesday we got a shipment of Chicago Cubs merchandise
at the store I work at which was very rare
On Wednesday I got an e-mail newsletter
from my favorite bands website
It said on Saturday at 8 pm
they would be playing in Chicago that night
On Thursday night I closed up the store
and bumped into a man
He said "I'm sorry for my rudeness
us Chicago folk can be clumsy sometimes"
On Friday I booked a flight to go see a friend in New York
halfway into my flight it started to snow
So the plane made an emergency exit
as the captain announced we would be landing in Chicago
I wouldn't be able to go to New York until Saturday
meaning I had to stay the night
I got a room at a hotel
and stayed up all night watching the snow fall outside

Saturday morning Chicago was pure white
no flights were happening that day
I knew I wasn't going home soon
so I decided to explore Chicago
As I was crossing the street to get to a museum
I slipped on some ice
a man about my age caught my fall
and asked me if I was alright
I couldn't give him an answer
he was completely gorgeous from head to toe
After he walked me to the nearest sidewalk
he let me go
After my museum visit
I went to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha
In line behind me was that same man
who had me in his arms an hour earlier
We got into a discussion
about things we were passionate about
He wrote songs for a living
while I struggled as a poetry writer
He asked me to write a song with him
I said that I would
We went back to his place and spent the rest of the day
writing as many songs as we could

When the moon greeted the sky
he asked me out to dinner
I was enjoying his company way too much
so I said yes
We ended up going out for pizza and beer
I laughed like I never had before
He walked me back to my hotel
once we were there it started to snow
He asked me if he could see me again
I told him I was leaving town tomorrow
He said "That's a shame"
then gave me his number with a smile so beautiful
Once I was in my hotel room
my laptop set off a ding
I got an e-mail from a publishing company
so I decided to give them a ring
The company wanted to publish me
they liked my style of poetry
They wanted to meet with me right away
I told them that was possible
I asked them where they were located
their response made me freeze like snow
I hung up as I looked outside
to welcome my new home which was now Chicago



As a believer in signs I think when we feel lost the universe has a way of giving us signs to let us know we are on the right track. When we ignore these signs, life has a way of forcing us to pay attention to these signs. This poem is complete fiction but I do believe that the things I mentioned could possibly happy. Chicago is one of my favorite places on earth. I rarely write about it so that is why I chose Chicago as the scene for this poem.