The Rain Run

everyone was standing,
milling around, muttering,
five thousand runners
waiting,
like a giant flock of birds,
mostly similar in shape,
clothing, and temperment,
waiting to migrate, to fly,
we were a huge gathering. . .
the signal finally came,
and we all slowly advanced,
lifting off like some behemoth,
a flock of eager fliers;
it was raining so hard,
so unbelievably dense
that runners ahead of me
cruised into the rainfall
and then just disappeared,
while those behind me
seemed to materialize
out of the foggy clouds. . .

Stroh's Run for Liberty

Dallas, Texas 1984