Chicagoetry: A Modest Proposal

A MODEST PROPOSAL

It is a melancholy object to those
who walk through this great city-state
to see the streets, roads and tavern doors
littered with inconvenient and foul-smelling

human debris. As to my own part,
having turned my thoughts upon this
important subject, weary with offering
vain, idle, visionary thoughts,

I fortunately fell upon this proposal:
having to-date perfected the efficient
and discreet distribution of firearms
to our unwanted teens and tweens--

the envy of revolutionary ideologues the world over--
to further provide professional training
in the use of such weapons. Firstly,
to enable these unloved, unsupervised

undesirables to effect with greater speed
their own self-eradication (is this not our wish?!)
and secondly to reduce the collateral damage
to innocent bystanders with no score the settle.

I am not so violently bent upon
my own opinion as to reject any offer,
proposed by fellow tasteful and wise men,
which should be found equally innocent.

Anyone?

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J. J. Tindall is the Beachwood's poet-in-residence. He can reached at jjtindall@yahoo.com. Chicagoetry is an exclusive Beachwood collection-in-progress.