Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges began her second state of the city address Thursday with a poem. It was about how despondency and anguish "breaks off its course." It was a Swedish poem, read by a Hispanic woman.
Of course it was.
"The eager light streams out," the poet wrote. "Everything begins to look around. We walk in the sun in hundreds. Each man is a half-open door, leading to a room for everyone."
It was the perfect preface to a speech that envisioned "One Minneapolis," combining Hodges' sum of the past year and her ambitions for the future. Hodges focused on maintaining a robust economy, increasing opportunity for young children, addressing both income disparities and global warming and a general puppies-and-rainbows ethos that could be copied by, or from, the mayors of Portland, Seattle or Berkeley.
What about potholes and gridlock?
The water is shining among the trees.
By now I should know not to expect too much from these ceremonial speeches. They all sound vaguely the same, save for a pet word or phrase.
Remember when St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman used the word "vision" 27 times in one state of the city speech? I don't either, but it's on record.