Haikutimes.com

Issue #112, Memorial Day, the Boulder Creek Festival and the 27th Bolder Boulder 10k road race, intersperced with a hike to Lion's Gulch, Colorado. Images and words by Jonathan Machen.







memorial day
a time to mourn
and to reflect







weekend infusion
a city of visitors
moves into boulder







meanwhile the natives
with distain for the crowds
head for the mountains







economic impact
a festival of vendors
lining city coffers







helicopters buzz
while we head to lions gulch
for rain-infused flowers







burnt trees a reminder
when that slurry tanker crashed
up near estes park







sticky willowherb
and early larkspur crowding
that stemless primrose







ahead of us
lady growls nastily
at three-legged dog







hastening their demise
runners pound asphault
faces revealing pain







almost at the end
most are running, some walking
take your headsets off!







memorial day
the USMC runs by
chanting slogans







smiles and laughter
everybody sweating now
determination







i like the feeling
of waking up
in the middle of the race







redwing blackbirds alarmed
their morning marsh-ramblings
interrupted by that rock band







playing before the thousands of runners
the wheelchair racers,
making their way to the starting gate







broad, empty pre-dawn streets
the thick grass water-soaked
at the edge of the narrow corridor




lining the race avenue
sleepy pre-race faces
we are all up before 7




excitement in the air
some running,
some preserving their knees




the frenzy of leg-pounding
on rain-washed asphalt streets
in may as Baghdad




brought to convulsions
in an ongoing insurgent war,
the european union in disarray




Robert MacNamara warning us
of nuclear annihilation
and the secret government men




walking with
football-shaped briefcases
containing missile launch codes




much enthusiasm
many endorphins
the band plays by conoco




street side trombone players
large raindrops on the blue iris
people smiling, calling out names




thousands of people
deciding to make
a personal fitness commitment




runners sweat at the last mile
hawaiian hula dancers
run past yellow-shirt sudanese




at 9.1 km the college jazz band
drowns out the grunge metal
on the next block




faces young and old
struggle for personal goals
cloudy may morning




raptors now forced
through accident and injury
to be on display