Wednesday, April 7, 2010

National Poetry Month, Day #7: Test of Endurance

Test of Endurance

I've slept through earthquakes,
swum through tsunamis,
and built castles in quicksand,
but I cried when they closed
my favorite coffee shop.

I don't know how to handle
the little things.

Who does?
The little things tend
to slip through your fingers.

"Get a grip?"
That's easy to say.

I'll never forget
grade school field day,
when Coach clocked us
holding a chin-up
to test upper body strength
and endurance, I presume.
I'll never forget the looks
on my peers' faces
as I passed their times,
one by one.

The lesson was clear:
your strongest muscles aren't
in your arms or legs.
It's the chin.
Lift. Hold.
Try it.
It's harder than it looks.

The next day,
I winced during slow pitch softball.

Fortunately, enough little things
make one big thing.
The bigger they are,
the easier to grasp.

"Hold on?"
Let me weave the rope
and get back to you.

When seconds become minutes
and we realize, "We're really
doing this."

Building a kingdom from
sinking grains of sand.
Riding the storm
one tidal wave at a time.
Feeling at home
on a fault line.

No comments:

Post a Comment