Run. Breathe. Think.

by Joy

slap. slap. slap. slap.

shoes greet pavement

slap. crunch. crunch. crunch.

ice.

hold tight. don’t slip.

slap. shh. shh. shh.

snow pillows embrace sneakers.

crunch. crunch.

pick path across snow plow excrement.

pant, pause, stomp, waiting for green.

run breathe think

I’m passing sleeping cities
Fading by degrees
Not believing all I see to be so

 

slap. slap. slap. shh.

aqua and brown flirt from shoulders

crunch. crunch.

neighbor calls hello to “midlife crisis”

crunch. crunch.

i run. i like it.

who am i?

shh. shh. shh. slap.

dog pants smiles from behind.

joy, aqua and brown hair, her dog, and snow

 

And it’s hard to say
Who you are these days
But you run on anyway
Don’t you baby? 

 

it’s simple.

slap. slap. slap. slap.

run. breathe. think.

the world concrete grays, winter drab, snowy whites.

ear buds sing poetry

i gasp the words in jagged tune.

tears. rage. regret. relief. clarity.

fuel another mile.

crunch. crunch. shh. shh.

i run. i find.

me.

 

You keep running for another place
To find that saving grace
Don’t you baby?

 

*Italicized lyrics by Tom Petty, “Saving Grace” from the album “Highway Companion”

(You can find a little back story for this poem here.)

January 3, 2013 in Story with 5 Comments

About Joy: Joy grew up in a Christian home, and should know the answers to all the usual faith questions, but she doesn't. She has delivered four babies, handed two over to heart surgeons in the hall outside an operating room, and buried one in a cemetery just a few miles from her home. She has no idea how she managed to marry a man who would love her and their kids through all of the upheaval, but she did. She has been writing since the second grade and blogging since 2005.

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5 Responses to “Run. Breathe. Think.”

  1. Janet Oberholtzer January 3, 2013 at 5:59 am #

    Love this! And I like the backstory also.
    Running has saved my life twice (literally) and I continue to find me when I run… and I continue to like me better.

    Run on!

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth W. Marshall January 3, 2013 at 6:59 am #

    Ah the poet in me hears the poet in you and it is beautiful. Love this joy…so much. Sigh… Off to read the backstory. I am a big backstory girl.

    Reply
  3. Caroline Starr Rose January 3, 2013 at 8:07 am #

    I started running at 30 (a friend tricked me into it during our weekly walk) and have never turned back. Can’t confess I think much, though. I love it for the repetitiveness, the familiarity, the chance to let my mind wander.

    Reply
  4. Jenna January 3, 2013 at 9:02 am #

    I run as well. Loved this post. (PS: Yaktrax = safer running on ice.)

    Reply
  5. Diana January 3, 2013 at 12:48 pm #

    LOVE this, Joy. I’d say, as loudly as I can with my fingertips – DO MORE OF THIS KIND OF WRITING. It’s terrific and gives us another glimpse of you that we don’t often see. Thank you.

    Reply

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