Construction Season II
Without the chatter
Of the strolling customers,
Campus resounds with
The cheerfully annoying
Chirps of trucks going backwards
Category: spring
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: Aches and Pains
Aches and Pains
The physical pain
Of the day after the day
After a big race
Helps the body remember
It’s aliver than it was
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: Cheq Checklist
Cheq Checklist
Old school, flow, man-made
Off camber, bench cut, boardwalk
Bridge, jump, rock garden
Hairpin, buttonhook, sweeper
Logover, rockover, berm
Daily Tanka: Loons
Loons
On Bear Point, I saw
Only gift shoppe bears
I didn’t see loons
But I heard them on the lake
Invisible dinosaurs
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: 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: 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: The Get-Ahead
The Get Ahead
The get-ahead push
Before a three-day weekend
Requires a battle
Against this Thursday’s slacking
And the next Monday’s sucking
Daily Tanka: Campfire
Campfire
A campfire can make
Conversations more profound
The darkness retreat
A good beer taste amazing
And a beard smell like ashes
Daily Tanka: Rainy Days
Rainy Days
Northfield is at the
Eastern edge of the Rockies’
Rain shadow, which means
The student union’s damp stench
Is really Montana’s fault
Daily Tanka: Swallows
Swallows
Swallows sweep over
The pond, cleaning up the bugs
Some, sated, turn to
Hover on the westerly
Stationary boomerangs
Daily Tanka: Tropical Minnesota
Tropical Minnesota
A rainy season
Decrepit infrastructure
An incompetent
Leader: this must be life in
A banana republic