By J.J. Tindall
All the Panthers Are Rose
A leaden lion
And a leather lion
Lurk through a savannah
Of spun gold.
Only one can be
Leader.
Posted on March 15, 2016
Chicagoetry: Vestiges Of Lilacs In Time
By J.J. Tindall
Vestiges of Lilacs in Time
Vestiges of lilacs
Festoon her face
Rose of Sharon and
Tulips, too, in time
Gestures betray
A dancer’s grace
Her smile:
The bane of fools
Posted on February 15, 2016
Chicagoetry: Bare Trees
By J.J. Tindall
BARE TREES
Alone in the cold
Of a winter’s day,
From the rostrum
Of a raised porch,
I survey
A horizon of bare trees.
My mind
Is at it again!
Posted on January 18, 2016
Chicagoetry | Christmas Ghost Story: The Peppermint Kid
By J.J. Tindall
CHRISTMAS GHOST STORY: THE PEPPERMINT KID
Christmas Past
I’ll never forget it:
They interrupted “The Peppermint Kid,”
One of my favorite serials,
With a bulletin
Of capital murder, a
National tragedy
Posted on December 14, 2015
Chicagoetry: Every Cloud A Sphinx
By J.J. Tindall
Every Cloud a Sphinx
They stray across the white-blue sky
In pieces, like classical statues
Of old gods and bitter generals, or
Streamlined griffins and soft sphinx.
I infer the nearly-unmediated sublime,
Mediated only by mind.
Then suddenly, an anomaly
In the blue, suburban sky:
Every cloud a sphinx!
Posted on November 16, 2015
Chicagoetry: Longshadow
By J.J. Tindall
Longshadow
Every fall
I pretend I’m tall,
Lingering in the garden
Just after dawn where
Every long shadow is
A partial eclipse
Of the lawn.
Posted on October 14, 2015
Chicagoetry: Spur
By J.J. Tindall
Spur
“There are two kinds of spurs
In this world, my friend:
Those that come in through the door
And those that come in
Through the window.”
He was a Rat,
But he had some skills,
So we partnered up
To do some business.
Posted on September 13, 2015
Chicagoetry: Psycho Killer
By J.J. Tindall
PSYCHO KILLER
You start a conversation
With a storm,
Speaking in tongues
Sliced by blue lightning,
Brooding into the gale
As if it were interested in your views.
Thus a squall gets the news,
The Quaker Parrots of Washington Park
Suppress their parochial squawk,
Clinging tenaciously to the tree bark.
Posted on August 17, 2015
Chicagoetry: Dancing With Men
By J.J. Tindall
DANCING WITH MEN
Remembering Neo
My blood would chill
And the micro-hairs
On the back of my neck
Would stiffen
Whenever the trill,
The sinister wobble,
Of the opening to
“She Sells Sanctuary”
Posted on July 21, 2015
Chicagoetry: Heaven
By J.J. Tindall
Heaven
Sometimes it hurts
Even in heaven.
Yep: and sometimes
It’s lonely
At a table of seven.
Sometimes the day
Comes in low
Like a rickety
Turboprop plane
Overloaded with bills,
Baggage, blues, bullies,
Posted on July 6, 2015