"Generous is" is a "soloem" - a poetry form created by the current poet laureate avery r. young.

generous is
the soul of Chicagoans 

A shopping cart out of nowhere, offering help.

Need something to hang on to? You lead me and my stupid-slippery-made-for-fashion-but-not-winter-in-Chicago boots down the icy late-night alley still a full block from my first apartment.

I am too new in this city to grasp that this cart is everything you own, this alley your address, this gesture all you have to give, and you’re giving it without hesitation. Here, hold on. You walk me home without your own to go to, soul shining under too many and never enough layers.

When we get to the salty sidewalk, I smile in relief and turn to say thank you. But like every angel of mercy and light, you’ve already headed back into the simmering night to carry on.

A shopping cart out of nowhere, offering help.