Clark Street Bridge
Clark Street Bridge - context Summary
Published 1916 in Chicago
Written for Sandburg’nd published in his 1916 collection Chicago Poems, "Clark Street Bridge" evokes the city's day-to-day bustle and its quiet nocturnal aftermath. The poem contrasts daytime movement — wagons, feet, money and injury — with a still, cool night presence: stars, mist, a lone policeman and two dancers. It closes by transforming urban noise into "voices" and singing, offering a bittersweet, humane view of city life.
Read Complete AnalysesDust of the feet And dust of the wheels, Wagons and people going, All day feet and wheels. Now. . . . . Only stars and mist A lonely policeman, Two cabaret dancers, Stars and mist again, No more feet or wheels, No more dust and wagons. Voices of dollars And drops of blood . . . . . Voices of broken hearts, . . Voices singing, singing, . . Silver voices, singing, Softer than the stars, Softer than the mist.
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