By J.J. Tindall
Forgive Yourself (Better Man Than Me)
All graffiti is physical.
Graffiti requires a vague understanding
of physics.
I think of it as Rogue
Physics, like knowing how to use
a double-album
and a driver’s license
to clean weed.
I sweep blood
at a virtual
stock yards. I take
the train.
I take
the Blue Line. Coming home, I see
graffiti.
It says
“Forgive yourself.”
I nearly weep.
I jones
for weed. Truth shatters.
Genius shatters.
Uncle Carl wrote
of fellow riders in
“Halsted Street Car.”
His graffiti says
we are “tired of wishes,
empty of dreams.”
His news stays news.
Uncle Ezra says
“This is literature.”
Forgive yourself!
That’s literature.
I dream
of such eloquence.
–
J.J. Tindall is the Beachwood’s poet-in-residence. He welcomes your comments. Chicagoetry is an exclusive Beachwood collection-in-progress.
–
More Tindall:
* Music: MySpace page
* Fiction: A Hole To China
* Critical biography at e-poets.net
Posted on June 14, 2010