By J.J. Tindall
Blues for Allah
“What good is spilling blood? It will not grow a thing;
Taste eternity the swords sing: Blues of Allah In ‘sh’Allah.”
– “Blues for Allah,” lyrics Robert Hunter, music Jerry Garcia
Commuting home
From one world to the next,
I watch
The expressway parallel
To my train seat and
Daydream of my favorite
Old god, Osiris.
Not only is he
Lord of the Dead but he’s also
Lord of Silence
And Lord
Of Love. He holds two
Golden implements across his heart
(A battered old boiler,
Like mine?), a crook
To steer his flock
And a flail to whip
Wheat from chaff,
Each encrusted
With blood-red rubies,
River-green emeralds and
Sky-blue sapphires, each
Co-opted by the Pharaohs –
Along with ceremonial beards –
As totems of godhead.
Also he commands the moody river.
I feel compassion for his burdens
And thus mine lighten.
The expressway, this highway,
Is a river we accompany, as Osiris
Accompanies the dead
To heaven.
I wish the highway
Was an ocean.
This is a sin,
To be gifted
A river only
To crave an ocean.
There goes another hearse,
Black barque of Anubis, accelerating
Downriver to the cemeteries
On the delta
Of Osiris.
Between the skyscrapers
And headstones
We thrust (bracing
Our boilers), racing
The recurrent hearses, through
The detritus of fallen gods,
Through lilac, rose of sharon, briar and cat tail,
Hurtling west
Toward immaculate sunset.
To the east, skyscrapers
Like glass obelisks
Mark the shoreline
And the stealthy undertow beyond,
Sky-blue buildings
Blending right into the sky!
They seem nearly invisible.
Perhaps that was the idea.
The train rolls on as dusk beards
The cat tails with royal shadow.
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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
Posted on July 10, 2017