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
Category: Northfield
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: 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: 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: 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
Daily Tanka: Keys
Keys
Each workday, I lock
The office door, pocketing
My keys only to
Pull them out in a minute
So I can unlock my bike
Daily Tanka: Graduation
Graduation
I try to avoid
Wistful parenting, because
Time flies straight and true
But ending fifth grade means that
We have no little kids now
Daily Tanka: Field Trip
Field Trip
A river, bluffs, trails
Laughing, running, teasing tweens
Yellow sun, blue sky
Rocks skipped over the water
Just five hours of fifth grade left
Daily Tanka: Riotgrrravel
Riotgrrravel
A peak dad moment:
When girls’ grasp equals their reach
A 20-mile ride
Loose gravel, heat, hills, headwind
Soda, donuts, the finish.
Daily Tanka: Field Day
Field Day
I’ve spent four Field Days
Manning the ball-throw events
And the first exchange
In the 4 x 100
Relay: I’ve earned those sunburns
Daily Tanka: Lost and Found
Lost and Found
The gym’s lost and found
Table evokes mystery:
Lonely socks, shoes, gloves?
Textbooks? Earbuds? Underwear?
No rink, but two hockey skates?
Daily Tanka: Life in Northern Towns
Life in Northern Towns
Like a U.P. town
Ely, M N, feels closed in
By the woods and the lakes, and
Especially history.
Northfield feels open and wide.
