A Running Journey
Just when you think
That all is done
Or finished…
You’ve run the course, passed the markers
And watched with hidden concern
The other runners passed ahead and behind
Some whom you left behind gladly
Others… you wonder… why don’t they look back?
Without intending, you’ve curved around
Returned not to the start…
But rather crossing places and people you’ve seen
They seem different now, perhaps because they are
Or you are.
Familiarity reminds, refreshes, teaches…
And while running backwards to relive a moment isn’t an option,
Intersecting is, in contrast, not only an option, but a necessity
For if we never look back… never cross a path once traced
We miss places, faces… that should not be missed.
To run constantly forward without looking back…
Or to stop running so as to avoid uncertainty ahead…
One is stubborn and unwise
The other, foolish and cowardly.
The answer, then, is to run with reflection and determination.
Not necessarily upon the straightest path…
Nor the path with the clearest markers,
But rather, upon the path that matters.
Only then can you be content, knowing that your travels were done
Not for the destination, but the journey.
written by Adam Lasnik on August 29, 1995
What do you think?