It is so beautiful, Minneapolis in May.
At Lake Calhoun, a man fishes off a pier and a fish jumps a hundred yards away.
A boat goes by and another fish jumps
And under the pier the water glugs and whumps
The lake and the reflection of the sky,
Runners passing by,
Bicyclists and their friendly dogs, Rottweilers, retrievers, and mutts,
City dogs so happy to be outside, they are almost nuts,
A Yorkie who belongs to a girl with tangerine hair,
And a man who seems to be in prayer,
A sun-worshipping religion,
But no he is only doing yoga: down dog and half-pigeon.
It's 11 a.m. on Friday, not that warm and yet
A man strips down to his swim shorts and dives in and comes up glittering wet.
And from a nearby lunch stand the delicious
Smell of walleye sandwiches.
Old ladies on a bench, children scooping up sand,
A woman with a cellphone in hand
Says, ""A C in Econ? Well it does matter. It's your major."
And nearby on a tire swing, a teenager
Swings and she laughs
At Chinese tourists approach taking photographs.
It is a work day and yet at the lake
The workers are taking a long break.
A father and his daughter out for a walk
Past Sunfish boats tied up to the dock,
Three women in black hijabs pass,
Geese eating the dandelions in the grass,
And babies, babies in strollers, babies trying to walk and learn how to function,
Babies in mothers' arms having their luncheon.
Everyone is beautiful and loose.
Nobody is in a hurry. There has been a truce.
What a piece of work we are, so much more beautiful than we knew!
And terrible too
As you remember from Shakespeare,
As we may find out, in November, this year.