running, 5 a.m.
this is strength,
stamina;
this is freedom rushing in
--a new beginning
first moments of foot to pavement
like old friends reunited,
milk and honey to an impoverished soul.
mind wanders with no restraint
free, finally, to soar
unswept heights
mysteriously,
elusively,
like the eagle it thinks it is--
for there are miles to go
and the body will keep the time,
this time.
running 6 a.m.
shadow to the west--
this is my dark
the light is revealing to me.
its movements appear weaker
than my own.
no effort instilled
no passion aroused
for the run.
my pernicious dark
merely gliding along beside me,
laughing, I think,
at the sweat that does not
wet her brow,
barely lifting her legs
to go the next mile.
But her desperation
is hidden
at the edges of my feet--
in how she clings,
holding there with resolute ferocity--
this is my dark
the light exposes to me.
this is my dark
I can not out-run.
in--7 a.m.
and still
my dark remains
but this is the race
that I have finished--
despite her.
This is good to remember.
This is why I run.
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a pursuit to discover the gospel of peace that Jesus taught and lived, in its spiritual, physical and social manifestations.
About the writing in this blog . . .
Earlier I wrote in this blog that I would seek the things that make for peace--and that I would not use violence in my words, whether they be written or spoken. So this blog must go outside the boundaries I first gave it. In those boundaries, I was limiting my understanding of peace. And peace is everywhere.
You see, I am finding that peace happens in surprising ways, and Jesus is not as religious as I once thought he was. Not in any way. As I get to know him, he calls me further from the boundaries I placed us in when I was a child. And so I am finding that peace happens in places I have feared. Peace is everywhere.
You see, I am finding that peace happens in surprising ways, and Jesus is not as religious as I once thought he was. Not in any way. As I get to know him, he calls me further from the boundaries I placed us in when I was a child. And so I am finding that peace happens in places I have feared. Peace is everywhere.
Blogs I Like
Books I've Read Along My Peace Journey
- Brown, Dale. Biblical Pacifism, 2nd Edition. Evangel Publishing House, Nappanee, Indiana. 2003.
- Chernus, Ira. American Nonviolence : The History of an Idea. Maryknoll, N.Y. : Orbis Books, 2004
- Yoder, John Howard. When War is Unjust: Being Honest in Just-War Thinking. Maryknoll, N.Y. : Orbis Books, 1996
- Lois Barrett. The Way God Fights: War and Peace in the Old Testament. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press 1987.
- Roth, John. Choosing Against War, A Christian View: A Love Stronger Than Our Fears. Intercourse, PA : Good Books, 2002.
Books I'm Currently Reading
- I'm taking a break for a bit to do more writing.
Blog Archive
november sunrise on the way to work
3 comments:
Great poem. Recently saw an advertisement in Eastboy catalog that listed every sport imaginable at the top then connected training to all of them, then connected, you guessed it, running. It's such a basic activity that I love. This poem captures some of that experience perfectly. Other times I seem to have thoughts and revelations that I can't describe until they happen later or not yet. :-)
It is easier to turn the light on than try to outrun the dark.
I believe you misunderstood the poem. The runner says the light exposes her dark. The Light exposes her dark.It's the idea that we will likely never be able to outrun the dark, but that we should keep running. We should keep going, despite the dark. There is, however, a moment when the dark (in the poem, our shadow) does not exist and that is when the sun shines directly down upon us. If we can find out how to live in that moment, that would be good.
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