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i long to be a chicago poet.
by Jared Fladelandall i've got inside me
is the prairie wind
and the loneliness of little towns stretched
about for miles in every direction.
i sometimes long for the breakneck speed
the pop, snap, jazz,
of a chicago baked pizza
and the cold blow of a great lake.
instead i have the hour drives along a
desolate interstate,
no shelter from canadian winds,
no skyscrapers to shield my eyes from the sun.
i want the art,
the parks,
the theatrical displays,
all of which are missing
from the fields of wheat around me. 01/28/2009 Posted on 01/28/2009
Copyright © 2025 Jared Fladeland
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 01/28/09 at 03:10 PM Sounds good to me. You work on the time machine, and I'll bring the cigarettes. Awesome work. |
| Posted by Laurie Blum on 01/28/09 at 03:49 PM Jared... you have inspired me! |
| Posted by Ava Blu on 01/28/09 at 08:12 PM seriously great. |
| Posted by Anastasia Shows on 01/28/09 at 10:21 PM I <3 the windy city. great read! |
| Posted by Julie Adams on 01/29/09 at 12:17 PM amazing how you captured to localized vibes in one poem, juxtaposed so intimately, so delicately, I loved them equally! The idea is inspiring, an instant favorite...I look forward to reading more of your work, peace n happy writings, jewels xxx |
| Posted by Sandy M. Humphrey on 01/29/09 at 04:06 PM Ah the beat of this is great and the imagery flawless and the longing wistful. snap snap. smh |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 01/29/09 at 04:08 PM ...so, jared, you started all this w/ this puppy; and a cute, delightful puppy it is...great write!
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| Posted by Steven Kenworthy on 01/30/09 at 01:20 PM north dakota never sounded so cool and lonely. well written little wish here...hey man, you can go wherever you want...you're a dreamer. |
| Posted by Indigo Tempesta on 03/02/09 at 06:47 PM i've read now about 10 of your poems (sorry i didn't comment on them all) and i've come to feel that this poem here really touches on the fire in your writing. this poem articulates a real and unique strength, which is your ability to describe the world around you, the physical world, and not *only* be describing. your descriptions have the force of proclamation and perhaps that comes from the rural middle of the country, in which i've done my time and it's true, what your poem says without stating, that there is a great strength in the vastness and flatness. you, unlike most people, can clearly use that. thanks for sharing your writing here. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 11/27/10 at 05:05 AM Great second stanza! |
| Posted by Jim Benz on 12/01/10 at 08:08 PM I'm glad this poem managed to surface out of the past and grace the front page for awhile. Meaning, I finally read it, and enjoy how you manage to capture the lonely beauty of the prairie quite at odds with the poem's stated purport. Very nice, Jared. The way it encapsulates this picture, it makes me think of a landscape framed (and enshrined) in the Art Institute of, hmm, Chicago? |
| Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 04/30/14 at 01:26 PM great poem, Jared. congratulations on POTD. |
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