It was a golden day
(a day like any other)
not a single jot of cloud
sunlight had just cleared the peaks.
Here, the tremble of the pack
feet invading the dew, droplets
burst against legs and no, oh no,
one slows and falls, fallen
before the finish line
a slender body can go
not one iota further
let's look ahead:
the flat-footed plantain has outdone him
the glide of a seagull outstrips him
gosh, even the oak
fuelled by sunlight
branches further!
Colour drains from his face.
shock turns into acceptance,
his race is well and truly done
lungs deflate like a party balloon.
The crowd are in an uproar, they make
several misplaced accusations
of somewhere, someone cheating.
A couple of splashes of tears,
the poor sod.
They put his time up on the board. Not bad,
faster than some, slower than others.
They open his hands and place
A spray of roses, a trophy full of dirt.
Slow and steady or hard and fast
The spectators mostly just love you
for taking part
