An Ode to the Runner

A tribute to the runners' tribe & the sheer joy of running.

With a sip of life and gulp of air does start, 
A ritual, now close to the heart, 
All doubts & burden you forsake, 
With every further step you take. 
  
Feet scything through the air in grace, 
You soon set into a rhythmic pace, 
With eyes set in a wondrous gaze, 
As beauty unfolds in the land, by the morning rays.  
  
Watching sunlight filtered through the trees, 
The chirping of early birds, adds to the peace, 
The gaze of a field cow that you pass, 
Feeding on the green, morning grass. 
  
And slowly around you the slumbering world wakes, 
A frenzied act to join the rat race, 
For the world & its worries what do you care, 
As you rhythmically breathe in the sweet morning air. 
  
Jolted suddenly, off your train of thought, 
You merrily acknowledge more of your lot, 
With a smiling face or a knowing nod, 
And twinkling eyes and a waving hand. 
  
No thoughts shall weaken your resolve, 
Nor fatigue, this iron will, dissolve, 
You persevere in purposeful tread, 
Mindful of the goal in your head. 
  
And blows in you face, does a wind divine, 
A childish joy fills your heart’s confine, 
For beckoning, the call of the goal you have set, 
And rest you won’t till the challenge is met. 
  
Thus truly, the inner self evolves, 
Gives meaning, around which life revolves, 
And for that intimate moment of glory under the sun, 
You, Mother Earth's loving child, Run!!!