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A Runner's Daydream
by Soulo Jacob Bourgeau
Ready
SetÂ…
GO!!
down the stretch
into the first turn
my heart says
here we go again
One
huff
huff
huff
bp 130
climbing higher
huff
huff
did I draw that shoestring tight?
too late to look now
Two
huff
swallow
huff
huff
crank the volume
find the beat pace
Three
IÂ’m orbital now
thank God for the banked curve
or IÂ’d have sailed over the railing
splat
wide eyes on perspired faces
gaze briefly on my crushed form
thereÂ’s nothing they can do for me
I donÂ’t blame them for not helping
don’t want to lose ‘your’ machine
I almost landed on that counter girl
had she not reached for her little metal purse
doing her nails. Oblivious.
Four
huff
huff
an ugly color too, her nails
deep red
similar to the blood pooling
from where my head opened on the counter
I think I broke the card reader when I fell
sorry
huff
huff
Five
or was it Six?
this happens when I daydream
go with five I think
huff
huff
Six
huff
huff
hackkk!
damn cigarette I had today
for that, two more laps
sprint!
down into the second turn
round the marshmellow in the fast lane
move your ass lady!
Seven
huff
huff
huff
switch tracks
beatÂ’s too slow
Eight
heart is racing now
bp 170 over flatline
the pain sets in
and I do not give up
huff
huff
huff
Nine
what if everything we do
was in neat little 1/13th portions?
would my life be manageable?
or just tedious? like this track.
Ten
IÂ’ve hit my runnerÂ’s high now
like sex and chocolate
and just as messy
get your high on
run on
run on till you can no longer stand
Eleven
bronchioles dilate
my diapragm heaves
my cells gulp oxygen fast as they can
war breaks out in my chest cavity
and my body wonders
why IÂ’m hurting it
crrrunch!
damn knee
huff
huff
huff
Twelve
second to last lap
what a shame
I just got used to this
huff
huff
okay, ReadyÂ…Â…?
sprint!
last lap
turn ONE
the counter girl is drying her nails
turn TWO
my little toe is numb
turn THREE
sometimes absence of feeling is okay
turn FOUR
finish line in sightÂ….andÂ….
I snap the tape
photo finish
0.086 ahead of the guy from Kenya
if he only wore shoesÂ…
find carotid artery
take cool down bp
1Â…2Â…3Â…4Â…
thump
thump
thump
and IÂ’m at peace
I feel great
a cardiovascular catharsis
to satiate me till tomorrow
see ya at the track!
7/9/01
07/09/2001 Posted on 05/31/2005
Copyright © 2024 Soulo Jacob Bourgeau
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Tim D Livingston on 06/07/05 at 11:59 PM i like the vagueness of the runner's surroundings. you don't need to fill it in. you're the runner, thoughts are random and blurry and occasionally brilliant, like this one...what if everything we do
was in neat little 1/13th portions?
would my life be manageable?
or just tedious? like this track.
I've been thinking along those lines. Excellent read. I'm gonna go check my bp.
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| Posted by Michele Schottelkorb on 11/16/05 at 08:03 AM this is sheer brilliance... i actually ran track myself in high school... wow, that was ages ago... and this brought such a grin to my face... perfect end to a day much better than yesterday... blessings... |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 11/17/05 at 05:24 AM I got a puff, pant, huff, kick out of this one Soulo...Charlie |
| Posted by Michael Faraday on 12/18/05 at 02:08 PM well done! |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 01/08/06 at 05:44 AM Incredible...oh this is a must-share...you've outrun even yourself, Soulo? Issit possible? :)
:) :) fave, jave! —JiLL |
| Posted by Maureen Glaude on 01/14/06 at 11:39 PM amazing. Vivid and real. The use of the concrete details, bank curves (etc.) by the writer make it all so. And human, with the cigarette regret. Hey, there's a term for you, with poetic sounds echoed - anyway, very well done and it tired me now for the night, he he. |
| Posted by Melissa Arel on 01/21/06 at 12:46 AM I'm definately not the runner-type, but I gotta say I loved this :) |
| Posted by Alisa Js on 01/12/07 at 05:10 AM lol..this one is quite funny yet entertaining.. .clever, very clever, indeed.. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind sentiment.. aloha.;-0 |
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