By J.J. Tindall
Reservoir Dogs
“For no man can make a dent in emptiness.” – Nelson Algren, Chicago: City on the Make
What is a river?
A ditch full of rain
What is rain?
The tears of a god.
What is a god?
A metaphor.
Tears of a god:
Not the tears of God,
But the tears of a god,
Just one of a pantheon,
As the Pagans envisioned,
Like a Senate, or a City Council,
Rendering unto Caesar
What belongs to Caesar,
Rendering unto Romulus
What belongs to Romulus.
Multiple entities fighting
Amongst themselves,
Bickering away in private code, thru
Hidden mailboxes,
Largely oblivious to mere mortals.
The multi-god model, to me,
Better represents the vagaries
Of time, fate and nature
Than the binary God/Devil version.
Like: Apollo lusts for Sybil.
She relents only in exchange
For immortality. Apollo
Grants her such but denies her
Eternal youth. Sounds like
A man to me!
Got what he wanted
Then punished the She-giver.
Even the few Goo-goos
Are rendered useless.
You listen hard for heaven
But all you hear is hell.
Like “Avengers: Civil War.”
Iron Man and Captain America
Fighting one another,
Destroying half the city
In the process.
Or “Reservoir Dogs:”
Mr. Pink and Mr. White
Arguing about who gets the
Cooler alias, eventually
Killing one another off.
Gods who hate and fear and cry.
So we can ride the river
Of immortal tears,
Walking wounded,
Collateral damage,
Past the glamour of the hotels
On the main branch
Or the squalor
Of the tents
Down the south branch,
The tears which made
The river which made
The city.
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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 January 10, 2017