There is a park near my home where I often go to run. We watched as the land was cleared and the pavilions went up. There is a dog park there. Andrew wanted to go and walk his dog. As cancer took its toll on his body, we promised him we’d take him in the wheelchair. He had hoped for more. We all did. This park is my park. It has kept many secrets shed in tears and it has heard my laughter, too. A few days ago I took this picture and wrote this poem. It is my pleasure…my simple pleasure, to share it with you.
Today I went for a run. But I went for more than that.
My insides needed open spaces.
Verdant places to shake the voices, forget the faces
Talking blind and all insist on what I am…not who.
I take them in – deep or fringe.
But they are there with mouths like ovals,
Their brows upraised in subtle indignation.
Today I went for a run. But I went for more than that.
Lungs and legs and rivulets of sweat replace imagined expectations.
The ghosts feel real enough to me.
Blood pumps and oxygen increases
Life to my brain.
And just like that – my thoughts take the high road.
Faces fade and lose their voices.
Today I went for a run. But I went for more than that.
Flat and plastic need not apply in this green and earthy beneath my feet.
Wild birds swoop low over lily pads.
Curious squirrels twitch tails in bushy chat.
Fat rabbits gather for grassy snacks.
Blue skies cover all
Where gators swim in ponds that keep their secrets.
Today I went for a run. But I went for more than that.
My prayer, my plea, my inner me
Seeks paths and trails where I run free.
I pause in my rhythm to seek true beauty,
A Holy Maker kind of story.
I lean over the dock, hear my own respiration.
The turtles are dancing their water ballet celebration.
© 2012 Melanie Dorsey
Ponder and share with me if you ever feel the burden of the “faces and the voices” that seem to tell you what you are instead of understanding WHO you are?
