The Bike

Early Sunday morning,
The weather hesitates.
So do I.

I stand in the empty street.
There's a fine rain.
The bike ride home takes half an hour.
Twenty minutes if I go fast.
I rarely do.

Will the rain stop?
Grow heavier?
Does it matter?

I look at the bike station.
There's only one bike left.
I slowly walk towards it,
Still thinking about the rain,
Staring at the sky,
Using my non-existent knowledge of meteorology
To evaluate the probability of the rain stopping. 

I do my usual bike check.
The brakes,
The tires,
The gears,
The seat.
This bike is perfect.
I don't even have to adjust the seat's height.
This probably influences my decision to take it.
It's almost waving at me.

Ten minutes later
On the Saint-Germain boulevard, 
The rain is heavy,
My hair is damp,
The wet pavement reflects the street lights,
My glasses are covered in raindrops.

I feel tired,
Slowed down,
There.
My legs start to hurt.
A strong wind plays against me
And I forgot to change the gear.
I notice it
And don't change it. 

I smile at my inability to predict the weather,
At my ability to be surprised,
At the physical effort I have to make.
This awareness
Along with the elements around me 
Make me feel very much alive. 
Streets are empty and mine.
I drive where it's not allowed.

I cross a third bridge and hear seagulls.
I close my eyes for a handful of seconds,
First making sure that the road is straight and clear.
I see and remember Bréhat,
This small island off the coast of Brittany
Where there were more seagulls than people
And cars were forbidden.
Everytime I hear seagulls I go back there
For an instant. 

I'm almost home.
I hum Summertime...

"Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high"
  
...and feel grateful.

Reviews

[zainul]

The title of the piece is common.
But is content is awesome.
It speaks volumes.
Each word has an image,an activity and a special story.
The last stanza is epic.
That allured me to check and enjoy the song, Summertime by Renee Olstead.
I passed about half an hour of trance by this epic poem.
What may be said more....!
I feel grateful.

[Louise-Charlotte]

Your comment is very touching. Very. Thank you.

[zainul]

Thank you, Louise-Charlotte for the compliments.

[alifeacoustic]

You took us there with your beautiful words, on the journey you took. Isn't it a beautiful thing to not rush, despite the weather and just be? Wonderfully penned. Thank you for sharing this.

[soliloquy]

Nicely done! I felt myself there.

One comment though,

"Streets are empty and mine." is this a missprint?

[Zap-the-awesome]

That's relaxing. Always nice to have a 'chill place' to let your mind drift back to

[Chris]

You speak well within your reader's mind.

[Frieda P]

Thanks for taking me on this ride with you, feeling of carefree moments, even in light of a little rain, not to dampen the spirits. Wow, you look so much like my niece if that is your pic...sweet poetry.

[Louise-Charlotte]

Oh thank you so much Frieda! Yes it's me on the picture. :)

[Frieda P]

My pleasure, and you're lovely. :-)

[Elvis Gilley]

Beautiful piece. I love the ability to tell things in such descriptive ways. The poem was touching a bought a sense of patience to me. Keep up the good work.e

[Louise-Charlotte]

I'm very glad to hear I was able to do that with this poem. Yes, patience was part of it. Acceptance too.

[Emrick]

Unique theme.
This is the first poem ever to read about bikes. first i thought the whole poem will be talking about bikes.
Nice!.

[Louise-Charlotte]

Yes I use very specific themes as my starting point and build around them. It helps my thoughts focus and it centers the poem in a way. Thanks for your comment!

[Yasmin]

You have very strong English even though it's not your mother language
I like the theme of the poem and the struggle between stopping and moving on. You have a way of making the reader feel every situation your words describe.
Well done

[Louise-Charlotte]

Merci beaucoup. It means a lot because my family and close friends don't speak English well enough to understand what I'm writing.

[Yasmin]

That's a shame because you write beautifully and support is always good inspiration
I'll be more than pleased to read more of your writings :)

[Dr. Wood ?]

you have a knack of rounding everything off so perfectly....I LOVE the phrase 'a handful of seconds' it conjures up the urgency so well and I enjoyed the ride...Thanks

[Louise-Charlotte]

Thanks a lot! It makes me happy to hear that.