Apologies in advance for the briefness of this post, but I’m being forced by the organized member of the family into living up to the duties of someone who will be moving to another continent in less than a month.

Today I have, for your entertainment, edification, and reading pleasure, three found poems, discovered on bicycles in the bike shelter next to our building.

Poetry on bikes—and other vehicles—is not uncommon here. It was a bit surprising to find this much poetry in one small shelter, but not extremely so. I’ll start with overview photos, which show all or most of each bike, followed by detail shots of the chain guards. So here, without further ado, are the three bicycles in question.

Potato (abandoned): This bike has been sitting in the exact same place for a couple of months. Both tires are flat and the plastic bag on the seat is gradually disintegrating. It think it’s only a matter of time before it’s added to the pile of derelict bikes which inhabits a nearby corner of sidewalk.

Milk looks like it’s still in use.

Only One: This is a bit backlit. The bike is actually a deep purply black colour. Note the reddish diamond on the chain guard.

Next, the detail photos.

Potato
the record breaker, leading the play, star of the game.
knows training, strength and discipline.
Everyone’s Hero!

I may be the first to have wondered about the metaphor comparing a sports hero to a starchy tuber.

Fashionable Milk
Nature in rural districts is indeed beautiful.
The colour of the sky and the hues of foliage
are quite different from those you see in
a town. Designed by Syowa

Typographers will note that the “y” in Syowa is actually an upside-down and backwards “h.” And that they could have broken the lines slightly differently to separate the design credit from the poem.

This last is quite serene and can speak for itself.

Only One
My mind is relaxed.
An orthodox
beauty.