tired from running

man am i tired!...
last night my dreams were very adventurous -
a la raiders of the lost ark -
i was being chased all night by an ethereal spirit -
a face that kept melting and changing right outside
of recognition's boundary.
my lungs burned and my legs ached and my heart
nearly pounded out of my chest.......
i had no idea where i was running to -
or even what i was running from -
i just kept running...
danger was imminent
and the formidable drive to escape was in charge...
and i was very fast, as swift as the wind -
like i was for the first thirty years of my life.


being fast was an integral part of my identity...
people still remember me as the girl who was fast -
i still have four high school records
for the fast races...records that are (gulp)
twenty six years old!!!
i was the fastest kid on my block
then discovered i was the fastest kid in my class,
girl OR boy...
then realized i was the fastest runner on my
jr high track team and proved to be the fastest girl
in my high school and
the fastest girl 400 runner in the state of OHIO!
and that SPEED paid my way through college - to MARSHALL -
where i met the LOVE of my LIFE -
only i didn't know it at the time....

you see i was running from
some monsters -
always determined they would never catch me...
i had remarkable emotional endurance -
and psychological agility....
but i eventually "hit the wall"...
and the years of running caught up with me - - -
but instead of the monsters devouring me -
i ate them, one little nasty bite at a time.

there's still a few that linger,
that hide behind unredeemed memories,
that taunt in the still of the night...
scary eyes that glow beneath my bed


but they don't bother me much any more...
if i look them in the eye -
they usually grumble something and take off.


anyway - that's why i am so tired today....