Halfway Home
Halfway home, views shift
From forestly vertical
(the exceptions: lakes)
To plainsly horizontal
(the exceptions: trees, towers)
Category: art
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.
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: Workout Regrets
Workout Regrets
Suggesting to your
Trainer that you want to do
A favorite lift
Encourages him to cause
Some deep muscular regret
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: Dishwasher
Dishwasher
When the family
Is all in bed, I turn on
The dishwasher and
Enjoy its clanky sloshing
I need a cat for my lap
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: Tankastructions
Tankastructions
Use a pencil and
Lined paper but leave blank lines.
Write a bad first line.
Strike it. Write five better lines.
Count your syllables correctly.
Daily Tanka: Writing Goals
Writing Goals
Use the fewest words
Possible to convey your
Meaning. Reduce words
While preserving most of your
Meaning. Cut words, save meaning.
Daily Tanka: Hunting Camp Thoughts
Hunting Camp Thoughts
I recalled the hunting camp
During this sodden green week.
Rain dripped from the eaves.
Mosquitoes hummed. Pines and firs
Palisaded the creek’s bank.
Daily Tanka: Tropical Minnesota
Tropical Minnesota
A rainy season
Decrepit infrastructure
An incompetent
Leader: this must be life in
A banana republic
Daily Tanka: Spring Trails
Spring Trails
I veer down the trail
Trying not to roll over
Any sticks, in case
One is really a little
Snake, bathing in sun-warm dirt
Daily Tanka: Did It Make a Sound?
Did It Make a Sound?
That tree that fell on
The hairpin curve on the trail
Seems miraculous
Shade and perches crashing down
Creating sunlight and soil
Daily Tanka: Garage Door
Garage Door
What is that strange clank?
The chain shouldn’t droop like that
YouTube, hear my prayers
Well, that doesn’t seem too hard
Didn’t even need a beer