Bayfront Parkway

exiting the common fray
i slowly trot my simple way
telling no one where i go
like the tide i ebb and flow
by myself i never run
with me always wind and sun
the bayshore sidewalk is my trail
the stones are silent cold and pale
jogging toward a distant point
as i sweat i self-anoint
i move along inside my cloud
footsteps sounding out aloud
a constant smash of wave on rock
on timber sand and concrete block
my feet are sturdy as i lope
upon this gentle sidewalk slope
i run a circle out and back
i think of nothing i might lack
my steady pace takes me on
toward my private Rubicon
i run my treadmill all alone
my abstract thoughts remain unknown.

December 2003