leg to
foot
to cement
covers
distance
in proper time
there is
the push of wind
against a back damp from exhertion
still the running
the need to cover ground
pulls leg
to move foot
to pound pavement
and the cycle continues
for some
this is enough
the distance is covered by sheer desire
to compete and win
compete and win
compete and win
with distance wearing the soles of your shoes to mere strips of rubber bound
by a priveleged determination – a determination that allows room for failure if it should occur
then there are the others
who travel
distance in planes
from lands
roasted brown like nuts are roasted on cold afternoons in sprawling city parks
these lands that bear the humility of suffering
the wrath of an unrelenting sun that balances her body on crumbling red earth
a place where fickle clouds hover menacingly, rarely
yielding water
the Africans as they are collectively called
come
and
run
with their respective
villages
connected to heart
to leg
to foot
to pavement
and they cover distance with wind cooling backs also damp from exhertion and, now fear
it is this fear
that steadies their breathing
and gives balance
the fear
of returning home
with less
and so they run with mother, father, uncles and aunts running
in spirit along side them
with ancestors within them
village
to heart to leg to foot to pavement
village to heart to leg to foot to pavement
Kenya
Ethiopia
Nigeria
running packs
having discovered a way
to win freedom
we watch and calculate the last time an american
ran and won this race
1982 or 1985?
leg to foot to cement
is not enough
there most be more
to cover the distance
seperating
the have
from the
have nots
