Minnesota Archives | Page 3 of 50

Daily Tanka: Plein Air

Plein Air
A hole in the clouds
Lets dusklight paint the cornfield
A tassle yellow
The hole closes and the field
Turns back to a husky green

Daily Tanka: New Bike Race

New Bike Race
Let’s race the new bike
Bang out a solid five laps
When my legs blow up,
Cruise the last lap, enjoying
The trees, the trail, and the bike

Daily Tanka: Lower Upper Midwest

Lower Upper Midwest
A cool, steady breeze
Betrays the high summer sun
Northfield, not da Yoop
A green lawn, not a stone beach
A corn sea, not the Big Lake

Daily Tanka: Construction Season II

Construction Season II
Without the chatter
Of the strolling customers,
Campus resounds with
The cheerfully annoying
Chirps of trucks going backwards

Daily Tanka: Construction Season I

Construction Season
The school year over,
Orange safety fencing now walls
The vacant sidewalks
And construction vehicles
Invade the empty green quads

Daily Tanka: Woods

Woods
The leaf-filtered sun
Heightens the scent of rampant
Photosynthesis
Red deadfall and white birchbark
Leap from the green to the eye

Daily Tanka: Reunion Weekend

Reunion Weekend
Reunion weekend
Campus tours are upside down
A few kids amid
A shuffling, sandaled swarm of
Retirees in college hats

Daily Tanka: Ballers

Ballers

Forty-some hours at
Basketball camp was enough
Time to be without
The girls, who came home happy,
Tired, sweaty, and more skillful

Daily Tanka: TNG

TNG

Tuesday night gravel
Means facing the hot headwind,
Soaking up the views
Into the river valley,
Then riding tailwinds back home

Daily Tanka: Uncertain Terrain

Uncertain Terrain

A bicycle ride
Is a rite of oneness with
Certain terrain and
With uncertain terrain too.
There is value in the act.

(After John McPhee, The Survival of the Bark Canoe)

Daily Tanka: Imminent

Imminent
We went to the new
Brewery to drink good beers.
Before I had one
The owner said sorry for
Not installing the bike racks.

Daily Tanka: Graduates

Graduates
Parents’ arms leaning
Up and toward their graduates
A black-gowned river
Thumbs tap, phone screens flicker, and
Photos ascend to the cloud