Chicagoetry: Oasis

By J.J. Tindall

For Margaret

Oasis

O: that's my SELF
floating before me
content and contrite,
liberated by quietude
and the slant
of autumn light.

Only in absentia
do I realize the drum
of the incessant, urban
Dynamo Hum.
Suddenly: a sea
change . . .

cicadas for sirens,
whippoorwills for
car alarms,
playing cards in bike spokes
for Mack trucks on
potholes.

I don't miss the tamale
stands, tire shops
and bars
but it's only Oak Park
so I still can't see
the stars above

the hemlock, juniper,
evergreen, oak,
aspen, juniper,
catalpa and birch.

The great love
of an old friend,
the old love
of a great friend
understood, and then
beckoned.

O: that's my SELF
floating before me,
gregarious and grateful,
pressing against my nose
that I never forget to
remember . . .

since the transient,
exhilarating suburban
mirage
will fade me back
unto my fugitive, Humboldt Park

garage.

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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:

* Music on MySpace

* Fiction: A Hole To China

* Critical biography at e-poets.net

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