Poetry Week, Day 6: The Reluctant Runner

Now let me get this straight: You’d like
To come on over on your bike,
And then, without relaxing first
(But with a sip to quench your thirst),
The two of us would go and run
A mile or two or three? What fun.
And where, I ask you, would we go?
Say what? You don’t precisely know?
We’d improvise a running track
For half an hour and then come back?
No errand done, no visit made,
No movie watched, and no game played?
Have you completely lost your mind?
I’m sorry if I sound unkind,
But what’s the point of toil and sweat
Without a known reward to get?
…The exercise will make me fit?
Oh, fine, I’ll try it, but I’ll quit
As soon as I run out of breath—
No sense in health that feels like death.
…
At last I’m home to sit and rest.
I must admit this little test
Had positive results for me,
With open air and sights to see.
We found the strength to chat as I
Experienced a runner’s high.
I might get sore, but hardly meek.
Could we do this again next week?



(No, the invitation is not from Sam-I-Am.)