Excerpt - The Marathon Man

Excerpt from sections III and IV

III.

"Why do I run, my curious friend?
Why do I run when relent I can?
To you it seems there is no demand
To endure with the event in which I'm began.

My legs are sore, and my knees are torn.
My torso is so battered itís not fit to be worn.
Rest would be heaven when my task is done -
To relieve the muscles and let the flesh reborn.

In the distance I've heard the dash to the tape.
Long ago I realised the end to the race.
No podium to climb, no records to break,
But finish I must for my satisfactionís sake.

Races I've won and their memories will last,
But in those victories I seek not to bask.
The weak will wallow in the glory of the past.
The strong look forward without filters or masks.

Though pain reaps through the sinews of my body,
Vigor still infest every fiber of my being.
While struck severely by the rain unyielding,
To no depths of surrender ever shall I sink.

For glory comes not through the auspice of ceremony,
And achievement is not for others to perceive.
The only time we fail in our quest to succeed,
Is the one time we doubt and cease to believe.

In the end it ís not that you won or lost.
It is that unwavering in your own self you trust.
For the challenge is not how strong, high or fast.
The spirit of the Olympics is in the courage you amass.

Why do I run, my inquisitive friend?
I run unwavering because I can.
To desist and depart would mean to suspend
Being the man I believe I am."

IV.

And few got to see him there,
The night he dreamt and dared,
With courage so pure and rare,
He showed to the world so bare,

The perfect splendour of the human spirit.

And although no history he made,
To no cheering crowd he waved,
And no shining trophy await
On that day, that fateful day,

He won.