Just watch those
little kids
run races on
unmarked sidewalks,
in local parks
and school yards.

Little kids
race as fast
as their
short legs
and small feet
will carry them.

They know what
they know, and
as far as they know
they’ll always be
racing wind,
chasing clouds.

By the end
of that long race,
they’ll have endured
an Olympic workout
and will sleep well
dreaming, recalling

how all their
loyal fans,
siblings, parents
and even onlookers
cheered them on
to victory.

 

Janet Cormier is a painter, writes prose and poetry, and performs comedy. Janet prefers different and original over pretty. She loves collecting stuff, but cleaning not so much. Janet also talks to strangers. A lot. Her column appears weekly on Oddball Magazine.