Fifty years ago...the age of self-reflection
Hollow crumbs, shadows of proud vestiges
As minneapolis' jim crow vanished slowly,
Painfully, no longer admired at country club
Cocktail parties celebrating ribbon-cuttings
My family was inside and unaware of history
Working class achievement,
First deli in marble edifice
To corporate greed,
Connecting the longest Minneapolis
Skyway North to Washington Ave.
Dallas barons, puppet-masters
Guilding their empire on the backs
Of working class talent, eager to eat the
Crumbs of capitalism
Spoon (Mr Witherspoon) slaved to achieve the
Pinnacle of jim-crow "shoe-shine" stands in
Pillsbury's new world headquarters
Admired in his community
Proudly placed out front, then moved
To the back of a hair salon, ignoble-crushed
Under the weight of boardroom glare
jim-crow lost it's shine
Spoon
Lost
His
Leg
4-18-25
5:55am
Walz fiddled while the city was burning
National Guard assist he was spurning
Just as Old Nero fiddled
Mayor Walz also diddled
His judgement was, oh, so undiscerning
At 10,000 feet we rose through soft, voluminous canyons---
Dark billows whose slow swell was undisturbed by our passage.
At 20,000 feet, the first few glimpses---
Three short days, and the promise of Her full beauty is fulfilled,
And yet She is shy---
Below, patches of dull silver offer glances, graces---
A lake, a river, a pond, a stream---
Slyly She slides, slips from one silken scarf to the next---
She teases with hints---
Then, for three breathless seconds,
She swims boldly before me,
Her bright beauty bared---
All this time, with feet planted on Earth,
I have watched Her rule the heavens
And longed to embrace Her---
And now that I approach Her home,
I find Her down there, where I was---
Still laughing gently---
Still delicate, my deliciously desirable Diana---
cigarette falling, snow-
ing in-
side the bronco,
buck-
ing ash two-digit scissors
reach-
ing like tongs
passenger’s eyes pop
driver
retrieves, revels, masters
the smoke; a joke
to the occupant
occupational hazard:
timing of
timber
window ajar; a trail
of chimney smoke
a cautionary tale:
don’t make my insides jiggle
jingle bells are merrily ringing
can’t help myself
previously, at the airport
man flies
off his luggage seat
goes splat in the turkey line
his phone’s fly-
ing
and i wonder why
i’m the only one
giggling
i leave the state in newfallen snow,
splash-
down on the tarmac
in Georgia
Nov 2022
reaching for snowflakes —
sunflower in winter white
abandons the sun
12/14/2020
Strand’s Hi-ku 2
Minority rule Apartheid
We, majority, asked:
How? blaming the victims of hate!
I heard Gandhi, Dr. King, Biko
II
Now we who have media, wealth, vote ...
Ask Lincoln to police Minneapolice (Mean Polis?)
We quote, "Be the change you want," but
Dream dead Saviors, hate Prez Obama, First Black
III
We were asked to solve (apart-hate) - apartheid
We did so, without the vote, money, or hate
We are hard - fair - on you for murderous policing:
Just don't kill unarmed Blacks. You need LINCOLN for that!
eyes on cutting board —
thick sliced slathered with butter
scrumptious breads in hand
11/19/2018
Here in Minneapolis,
In weather bright and cool,
We crossed the Mississippi
Then we headed to the school.
Two students helped to guide us
To the campus place for art,
A museum by Frank Gehry,
Not a shabby place to start.
We checked out the ceramics,
Sculptures, paintings and the shop
Then in need of rest and sustenance,
We thought we'd take a stop.
And that's when we found Annie's,
Where a coffee malt and fries
(Both delicious!) perked us up -
A Minneapolis surprise.
See, my favorite part of travel
Is to find a local thing -
Be it food or craft or scenery -
Such pleasure does it bring!
And though sometimes it's familiar,
Like the fries and malt today,
If I'd been at home, I would not do
What's done when I'm away.