"Chicago", by Carl Sandburg

Home plays a big part in Carl Sandburg's "Chicago." In the poem, the speaker acknowledges the problems with gangs and hunger in the city. He tells us that he knows all of those hardships exist in his beloved Chicago. But he also asks us if we have ever seen a city more alive, with more energy, prouder, cleverer. He tells us that Chicago has so much strength and power coursing through it, and those problems can be found anywhere. But there's only one Chicago, and it's nothing like you've ever seen before or will ever see again, because Chicago is always changing, "building, breaking, and rebuilding." Chicago is the speaker's home, and he sneers at those who sneer at his city. Chicago isn't a "little soft city", it's "a tall bold slugger." And to the speaker, nothing compares to his home of Chicago.