POETRY WEEK 2024
Runner-up
BY JEANNE BLUM LESINSKI
Copyright is held by the author.
Hotchkis Road
Hop-scotch-like, we pedal,
miss the dandelions bursting
through tarmac, past
a trio of painted turtles,
sunning on a half-submerged log
by the derelict boat —
pond weed chartreuse
dapples all the sunlight
through water willows —
spring every time.
Bike Birding
Tweeta-tweeta-tweeeeeet
I see a flash of red —
no time to point, ID
Rosy? purple finch? cardinal?
We fly down the trail,
over a Braille of bird splats,
a starling’s starry breast constellation.
fee-bee, caaaw, chickadee-dee-dee
This multimedia immersion is open
daily, from dawn to dusk — free of charge.
Strobel Road
As we pass, a yellow swallowtail launches
from the Dames Rockets on the shoulder.
I slow to its bobbing pace, ride in parallel
for a time, admire its beauty, its fragility.
Is the insect even aware of me, I wonder.
What does it see, perceive?
Does my helmeted head look familiar,
like its rounded head with bulging eyes?
My helmet-mounted rear-view mirror
seem a single antenna or proboscis?
Thomas Trail
Leaning back on a black metal bench,
we air our now unhelmetted heads,
take swigs of tepid water, rest legs,
gaze out over the soybean field,
wonder at the rumour of a coyote
in the woods ahead, remount,
zigzag through the railroad barrier,
coast downhill into the sunlight,
where a grazing doe looks up,
feels no threat in our passage.
Speedy Feet
Tails-up flags, black spine stripe,
black-white-black striped sides,
like miniature brown race cars,
ground squirrels dart out in front
of our bike wheels like reckless
drivers at train crossings.
Territorial dispute?
Chicken with themselves or us?
We don’t know their game.
Fate too fast to see us coming?
Looking over Swan Creek
From the bicycle bridge
the calm is as sluggish
as the grey sky, green water.
Now no muskrat swimming
toward its underwater burrow.
No bullfrog’s baritone galumph.
Minnows still make circles from below.
Barn swallows flit above the water,
to the strident saw of an August cicada.
We exhale the only breeze.
***
Jeanne Blum Lesinski’s poetry, prose, and artwork have appeared in many publications, including Dunes Review, Ekphrastic Review, and Midway. Her debut poetry collection, Tethers End, was published in 2023 by Shanti Arts. When not engrossed in a writing or art project, she may often be found on a trail, in a garden, or on the water. Contact her at jeanneblumlesinskiwriter.com
