Running Man

I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. - Thoreau

Man Competing Against Himself, Oil on Canvas

by Guy Steele Fairlamb, ca. 1980

heart pounding

body aching

sweat pouring

gasping for breath

in my best sneakers

i'm running like hell

i look over my shoulder

and he's there

always there

running a race that doesn't seem fair

he's got my flair

he's even got my hair

still right behind me

now i'm running faster than hell

maybe if i pick up the pace

in this twisted, unwinnable race

as fast as i can humanly go

damn, he's still there

wait, i think he's starting to twitch

no matter what i do, I can't shake the son of a b***h

who is it

the boogeyman

the devil

the bill collector

the undertaker

maybe the publisher's clearing house guy with a big check

that's it, i'm done, i give up, i can't go a step further

i stop

i can feel his hot breath on the nape of my neck

i turn around

barely able to see

we're staring at each other, face to face and eye to eye

no ifs, ands or buts but a huge who and why

could it be jesus, come to set me free

no, wait, it can't be

it just can't be

do i see what i think i see

oh s**t, it's me

Author's Note

"If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life." - Thoreau

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Really good rhyming here, and a piece of philosophical/psychological truth. Our main competitor in life is always ourselves. Ditto our worst enemy. Well done, Pete.

[Amanda Reynolds]

I love the escalating energy in this, and then the shift to reflection...

[Pete]

thanks for lacing up your thoughts. on your mark, get set ...

[MCS]

Great reminder that we are all solo players in this game called life.

[Pete]

indeed. we can't run away from ourselves. thanks for sharing mcs.

[Lara]

"Ahh... Grasshopper...
And so you realize wherever you go, there you are!"

[Pete]

The hands, Grasshopper, are the eyes and tongue of touch. Through them, a man may reach out and see another's feelings or speak his own."

[Sami Khalil]

I guess this powerful poem tells us that you can run but you can't hide whether from the Tax man, the undertaker, pain and suffering, aging, death.
Some people run away from themselves as I can relate.
Marvelous that you share the truth.

[Pete]

right you are sir sami. amazing are the extremes that some of us will go to in order to run away from ourselves. stay hydrated ...

[Sami Khalil]

Wow
You are welcome.
Have ye any Gatorade?