the shirtless pack

i read someplace the Ancient Greeks
competed in the nude
perhaps they liked the freedom
or it gave them fortitude

at every race a kindred group
fidgets at the start
shirtless and excited
eager to depart

they are the fastest of the fast
their heaving chests are bare
perhaps it makes them feel at one
with heat or fridgid air

to me they are a vestige
of Olympians of old
racing is their way of life
and the running is their gold

2006