Oct. 14, 2012

Graffiti Bandit

There's a graffiti bandit on the Pink Line.

They say he only strikes at night,
     clad in black,
          a prowling wildcat of a man,
     carving his signature into the walls and windows
          from Clinton down to Cicero.
A bounty's on his head,
     a hundred grand!
For anyone who can catch
     this dreaded fiend.

I saw him once.

I was sitting,
     shivering in the wind
          atop the California stop,
     my arms splayed back to prop me up,
When quiet as a cat
     a man crept up
And traced my hand
     with a navy blue crayon.
He tossed me a wink,
     and scratched a hasty
          "J.T."
     on the seat next to me,
Before he leapt across the rails
     and danced away along the rooftops.