Jeffrey Chapman
Thunderbird Tie, 1984
Watercolor
Museum purchase with funds from the Art Acquisition Fund
Crying to the Thunder Bird.
The monsters are gone,
They’re scared of the bird.
For they are all pawns.
They think that’s absurd.
A man appears wearing a tie,
As his black hair flies.
A thunder bird tie, as he approaches he says
“Are you alright?”
You shake your head,
You’re scared of the storm.
He reaches his hand out with no thorns,
“It’s alright,” that’s what he says.
“The storm is from the thunderbirds, yes?
the ones on my tie.”
You take his hand, he leads you astray,
through the thunder and grey.
You look at his tie, you might start to cry.
He looks down at you, as his hair still flies.
“It’s okay, I’m right here, the storm is from the
thunderbird creatures” that’s what he says.
“They’re beautiful, really. You might see one.”
You look up into the clouds and lightning
rumbles bright as the sun.
He looks up with you and points at one,
you follow his gaze and ooh and awe.
It flies through the clouds, with its claws.
Lightning trails behind it as it seesaws.
It sours through the clouds,
you’re no longer scared.
Something about this strange man and his
long dark hair,
It makes you at ease, despite the terror.
He’s the wearer of the thunderbird tie.
His tie has the thunderbirds in the sky.
You can’t see his face, nor his skin,
He seems unreal but he’s here.
And he takes away all the fear.
A thunder bird feather drifts from the sky.
He catches in his hand and present it to you
with no lies.
“Here you go.” he says,
the feather has rays
Of colors indeed.
As it’s from the thunder indeed.
You take it with your hand, it shocks you.
It has a light but bright blue hue
Until it goes back dark again.
You still take it and look up at the man,
“Thank you” you reply, he looks up high.
“You’re welcome” he says
and he looks up still.
The clouds begin to clear
and the thunderbirds land.
The sun brightens the sky
as the clouds dissipate.
The birds land nearby,
soaking in the sun.
The man pats your head
“thank you hun.”
And with that you feel at ease,
The thunder birds are nice and will let you cry,
Thanks to the man, in the thunderbird tie…
This painting gave me a strange feeling of security, relief, surrealism, and nostalgia, it felt safe for reasons I can’t explain, it felt out of a dream and made my connection to my ojibwe parts surface a bit every time I looked at it.