Chicagoetry: Chicago

CHICAGO

I created myself
From a dank creek.

A fusillade of selves, really,
Self-made and re-made
From an orgy
Of trade.

Jerusalem and Gomorrah,
Giza to Gaza,
Gargantuan Ozymandias
Of stacked prairie mud.

Steel shoulders,
Digital loins,

Concrete veins,
Railroad nerves,

Spun-glass skin
And a billion gallons
Of blood.

Blitzkrieg of egos,
Black hole of souls.

I sing the bawdy electric:

Song of my selves,
A million maws,
A murder of caws.

I am an oligarchy
Of letters and laws,
Bettors, debtors
And broken jaws.

I stun the soil,
I blanch the lake,
I am a barrage

Of makers and fakirs.

Precinct after precinct
Of gated villas,
Cadre after cadre
Of mind guerrillas.

Wireless tentacles,
Mind-forged manacles,
A whirlwind reaped

And heaped.

Dreams
Like the hurricanes
Of Jupiter.

Wicked, crooked, brutal.
Coarse, strong, cunning.

I sing of it,
I linger in it,
I binge.

I am Chicago
And I made myself:

Look upon my works,
Ye mighty,

And despair.

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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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More Tindall:

* Chicagoetry: The Book

* Ready To Rock: The Music

* Kindled Tindall: The Novel

* The Viral Video: The Match Game Dance

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