Of a whorehouse in Odessa Isaac Babel wrote
That sometimes groans of pleasure lifted
The whole building six inches off the ground.
So too it was at the Commonwealth Hotel
On the corner of Pine Grove and Diversey
Where as kids we caused such commotion
In the coffee shop that once a bookmaker
Leaned from a phone booth and exclaimed,
‘This is a place of business!’ We laughed
And mocked him but in that same hour
As the hotel began to levitate we sought
His explanation – he was known as
Mister Zah – and he described fucking
As best he could but it was still a mystery.