The Monsters Receive Their Briefing on Millennium Park
Vampires should be concerned
about the convention of crosses
beamed above the broad expanse
of the Great Lawn. Even if you can
arrive undetected, your pale faces
will be unreflected in the Cloud
Gate, every tourist turning from
his own convex visage to point
and stare then break branches from
the dense arbor nearby, scrape them
across the concrete to fashion stakes.
Werewolves should take caution
while viewing the following slides;
please shield the eyes of younger
lycanthropes. First are the wings
of the Pritzker Pavilion, rising like
a broken ribcage, bones curling out
from the impact of a blast to the chest.
Very disturbing. Then that giant bean,
(see warning to vampires) poised
at the park’s edge like a silver bullet,
just waiting to be fired across the lake
at the eye of a full, white moon.
Frankenstein, you should be all right.
Tall, bulky men abound in Chicago.
But please be careful in the Lurie Garden,
the path of wildflowers high and filled
with small children who frighten easily.
You know what happened the last time
you picked daisies with a little girl. So
stay to the west, watch the photos
on the Crown Fountain, all those faces
smiling, sans stitches. Pull your scarf
tighter against the strong lake wind.
Not a soul will ever notice your bolts.
Donna Vorreyer’s list of classics includes her family, Diet Coke, Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies, and Star Wars movies. She lives in the Chicago area, and you can visit her and her work at her website or on her blog.
Oh, I love this! (former Chicago resident) “Tall, bulky men abound in Chicago” – hee!
This is a fantastic romp. I’m captivated by the monsters and “artistic” civilization living together!
What I love about this is that being Chicago-ignorant, I read the poem’s place as a pure fiction (had no idea there was a Millenium Park until Ann told me!) – so I love all the more than it made me immediately ‘see’ the park and laugh out loud at what you did in it.
Thanks, everyone! I tried to include all of the features in such a way that people who HAD been there would appreciate it, but those who hadn’t could perhaps picture their own version. Glad it worked.