Chicagoetry: Bison At The Atom Smasher

Bison at the Atom Smasher

I am the soft target here,
I don't quite measure up
To the atom smasher.

Mind you: to me, a particle accelerator
Is an atom smasher and
I'm not even sure

Why I'm here at all.
I know I'm not alone in this.

Here on the low plain of Batavia,
After the memory of Enrico Fermi and
Among the rough prairie grasses,

Perhaps I am a manifestation of
Destiny (that's a little joke!).
Here the Great Plains begin

And some time ago somebody
Slaughtered my ancestors.
Now we just chill

Above the atom smasher.

Again, I don't know ion
From proton, so don't ask.
I'm just trying

To have a good time.
I cherish my wife:

Each morning I tell her
All my dreams.

Last night, I dreamt
I was a buffalo
(That's a little joke!).

My kids are pretty cool.
I try to teach them
Not to be bored.

I worry more for them
Than for me anymore.
Like my huge, fatty heart

Which once nourished the aboriginals,
We are the soft targets here.

The Furies will prioritize
The atom smasher, but goddam
I'm right here, too!

I got no place else to go.
I will steadfastly continue

To show up, come
What may.

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J.J. Tindall is the Beachwood's poet-in-residence. He welcomes your comments. Chicagoetry is an exclusive Beachwood collection-in-progress.

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