20th Mile
- Contest/Blog:
- Poetry Form:
Lost in the crowd,
he runs as he was instructed,
determined to succeed
so they would be proud.
Heart beats in tandem with footfalls,
he breaks away from the group,
automatically running,
but new thoughts invade.
The cheering crowd can no longer be heard,
but still he runs,
programmed to finish,
to earn the laurels.
Blisters appear on tired feet,
agonised movements,
as he runs a race for them,
until the twentieth mile.
Confusion, thirst, and exhaustion
strike full blows
as he hits the wall,
and realisation dawns,
this is not his race.
From his core comes the energy
to keep on running.
It is time to run for himself,
to gather his dreams
dreamed for him, not for them.
With new vigour,
refreshed with awareness,
he glances at the wall,
and looks ahead.
Instructions are cast aside
like an empty bottle of water.
Six miles to go,
six miles to run for his life.
still he runs,
these are his dreams,
this is his race;
he wins.
(7 votes)
- ragdoll's blog
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