i am astounded by these
runners
surrounded by the shouts of
crowds,
shrouded by legacy, lined up
like a procession -- with
flags
instead of guns, or candles.
how long have they been
running?
only a few short hours;
it is already almost the
end.
as they near the finish,
their pace never slackens –
steps tick off the distance.
they are superhuman -
all of them pushing a
boundary:
the body, the mind, the
moment,
history.
some of them don’t even wear
shoes.
i remember there were
bombings there
only a few years ago.
the finish line filled with
smoke and bodies
and parts of bodies.
for almost ten minutes
after,
runners continued to cross
the finish line, unnoticed.
i have seen the resilience
of people,
the way a city can dust
itself off and rise again.
we can learn to wave our
flags once more,
we can rediscover how to
rejoice,
we can celebrate each other
and not live in fear.
let us not forget –
we’re still running.
choose
the direction.
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