T’was only after
Propelling ‘round that bend
Salty squinting, past the sun,
Ignoring pain like a thousand
Hammers colliding with my inner shins,
While slightly delirious, did I
Finally
Look over my shoulder, and realize
Nobody was there.
Many are well-acquainted with the back of my head,
Though cordiality is not exactly its specialty.
No, mocking movements maintain the truth.
Daring countless customers catch up
Only to be left in the dust.
Backs cannot speak,
For this I am grateful,
For I would be haunted with whispering visions
Of failure, loss,
Dead dreams,
Gently placed in the fire, burning innocent hopes evermore.
Apprehending my condition:
Excessively ahead in this race,
But blatantly behind.
Outpacing the world takes a toll on the soul.
Slowing down now, stabilizing my pace,
One notch below, numb comfort.
Steadily jogging along this rain-kissed path
So I could meet you.
LIke its title, this is a peculiar piece. I enjoyed it tremendously. Although I am not quite sure what its about, I like how you develop the speaker: at first he seems full of himself -"Many are well-acquainted with the back of my head" - but soon we see that he is humble and realizes his relative insignificance compared to the world around him.
ReplyDelete"Many are well-acquainted with the back of my head"
ReplyDeleteAwesome line.
Good poem on the whole, and the sheer ambiguity of the final line makes me happy on the inside.
At least when you post something, even if rare, it is generally good. That is to be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what the Muse is saying about the last line, "so I could meet you"....
... is that a pun on track meet?
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and, like Matt, especially liked the development of the speaker. The last line almost seems out of place, which sparked my interest. On the whole, great job
ReplyDeleteYeah, the point of the last line was to get you to think about the meaning again. It is ambiguous, like Chris said, and therefore does not refer to anyone in particular. Imagination is a great thing.
ReplyDelete