4.1 miles
mississippi river road path, north/south
68 degrees
Slightly cooler this morning. A better run. Still struggled to keep going but I made it over 3 miles without stopping to walk for a minute. Then I ran again for the rest of the way. Didn’t see the Man in Black or the Daily Walker but I did encounter some roller skiers, walkers, bikers, and a person I met early in the spring who identified as trans but wasn’t yet ready to be out–pretty sure they didn’t remember me but I remember them because of their two dogs and the stories they told (then and again today) about 2 sisters who had run marathons in Amsterdam and were now training for an Ironman. Payed close attention to the part of the path I’m writing about right now and noticed the streaks of sun on the asphalt, making leaf shadows–I had imagined most of the light to be lost in this extra green-y tunnel of trees. Maybe in August it will be darker?
Felt like I was in a daze, running in the soft green light. Everything was slightly out of focus. Listened to the road and the river and the trees instead of an audio book or a playlist. Heard lots of cars gently rushing by. Might have also heard some rowers at one point, but didn’t see them. The river is mostly hidden behind layers of green now. Chanted in triplets to myself to keep my rhythm: raspberry/blueberry/strawberry, 4 way stop, split rail fence, railroad bridge, 2 oak trees, garbage can (I turned everything I saw into triplets). Then I thought about how the new trash and recycling cans Minneapolis Parks got for the path look a lot like early Star Wars droids–the ones from 1978. Can I work that into a poem? And am I the only one who thinks this?
Perhaps the most memorable thing I heard was a version of “ain’t misbehaving” coming from a bike radio that passed me from behind. I could hear the music clearly until he was too far away. Why no doppler distortion? Was it because of the wind? The speed of his biking?
Lakes Rivers Streams/Michael Dickman
This poem! Too long to include it all. So long and fabulous and strange! Here are a few lines I especially like:
At the same time spring pushes up against the windows
a green screen
And sleep
Pooled at the top of the stairs
Just upstream from a cell tower and a box of Huggies
Just upstream from a can of Red Bull and a pollen allergy
The cool floors of grocery stores
Just upstream from a pair of headphones and a Weight Watchers
Chirrup-chirrup my tree makes syrup
syrup so sweet
Upstream from a can of Aqua Net and a Pepsi
Bees in the lilac tree have something to say and say it without giving
away the ending
Just upstream from a gallon of 2% and a yellow pack of American
Spirits
Just upstream from a buffet-style weekend special and some notable
losses