heat flow

along the mississippi in minneapolis what i see is

bald eagles, gold eagles, buteos, falcons and crows

along the mississippi in minneapolis

mallards, wood ducks, woodpeckers, geese, sand pipers, blue herons

the song birds chorusing

over I-94 freeway’s hum

along the mississippi in minneapolis turtles, bass, carp and beavers

squirrels searching, dragon flies patrolling

along the mississippi in minneapolis in the summer

laughing, wading, and fishing

jogging, walking, biking, rolling

moving and breathing and flowing

canoes, kayakers, u of m row team rowing

motor boats towing

along the mississippi in minneapolis morning air pressing cold and heavy

against warm river surface rippling and getting misty

along the mississippi in minneapolis watching the sun rise

a hazy wildfire smoke in my lungs

watching the sun set

a melting orange hot sherbet sun

as sierra and cascade forests burn, as refrigerators and a.c.’s run

along the mississippi in minneapolis wind coming, better head in

shelf clouds, lightning, bow echoes, fog and pouring rain

frigid northern winds blowing snow across the ice

that spring cracks open again

along the mississippi in minneapolis in the winter

boot and paw prints frozen into shoreline

cross country ski marks up an incline

along the mississippi in minneapolis what i see is

autumn and i’m caught waiting for something profound

but the leaves keep falling down down down

green yellow gold red brown

along the mississippi in minneapolis plastic trash, plastic, trash

bits, pieces, chunks, shards, strands

beer cans and bottles and ripped hoodies covered in sand

along the mississippi in minneapolis beach encampments abandoned

made of blankets and sleeping bags hanging from branches

the person long gone but a human presence remaining

homeless on this beach, human what did you see

i hope you see what i see, the beauty