Chicago Poet
I saluted a nobody.
I saw him in a looking-glass.
He smiled — so did I.
He crumpled the skin on his forehead,
frowning — so did I.
Everything I did he did.
I said, "Hello, I know you."
And I was a liar to say so.
Ah, this looking-glass man!
Liar, fool, dreamer, play-actor,
Soldier, dusty drinker of dust —
[ . . . ]
Carl Sandburg's poem "Chicago Poet" was published in the 1917 Others anthology. To read this poem in full in a digitized version of this publication, follow the links below: