[In honor of my husband, who is in a triathlon this morning]
To see the finish line
To sail past the
Lesser athletes
To win
Finishing second
Means crushing defeat
The medal is all
Others need to feel
They are not alone
To sense the splash of water
The cheers
The breaths
All around
To feel the fingers
Brushing shoulders
Patting backs
See the rows of bikes
Waiting
To hear the laughs as others
Struggle on
To see those both ahead and behind
To be part of the pack
Validated
But happiest are those
In it only for the
Moment
Not the end
Not the others
But the feel of water on their skin
The rush of wind
As they pedal downhill
The ache of use
From their legs
As they run the race
To them, the end is nothing
All is in the now.
A triathlon? Seriously? Go, Hubby!
ReplyDeletegood luck to your hubby on his triathlon today. your writing in support of his day is great. have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteThe hubby did very well! He was seventh in his age category (though he did consider giving up during the last leg--the running), and he is very proud to have completed the race. He read the poem before he left for the race, though, and he said when he biked up to the top of a hill, and the valley opened up in front of him on his way down, he thought of the poem and smiled to be caught up in that moment. He said it helped him focus on the present, not the goal line. Pretty cool stuff!
ReplyDeleteGongrats to him... nice poem, it conveys the mood precisely.
ReplyDelete