Night Run

Night Run Every night or so I go out for a run along the roads I don't know why it appeals to me There's the wind Constantly caressing my scalp And the silence of course No distractions Okay, so I DO know why it appeals to me. Light, then dark, then a pale shade of gray Tendrils of shadow across my back Whipping it, drawing fine beads of sweat But strangely it doesn't hurt Asphalt beats upon my shoes like a drum Keeping a tempo with the motor in my chest Tha-dump. Tha-dump. The route looks so strange Where the little peepholes once used to be A snippet of the Old Man's life Tonight he's built A solid wall of obsidian I can't see through Though maybe it's one way glass And his eyes are really watching me. I hope it's just my imagination. Let's drum a little harder. Increase the tempo. Oh, the crickets are chatting and the night is young! Now passing through the garden of cycadia Rustled by waves of motion Setting off The Night Chorus A choir of leaves and reeds Tsssssstssssstssss This is what it means to be alive! And Then The thudding on the road stops The drum stops beating. What's wrong? The show must go on! On occasion, every while or so I glance into a car window A SHADE Or that's just my face God, that's HIDEOUS. No, it's the reflection of the trees above And then the ghost pops out at me. [Go back! Go back! The mouth bellows out You noisy, clumsy, unholy lout!] So I run Back through the trees (grasping for my limbs and hair) Back through the roads where the ghosts line the aisles Back across the bridge that separates me from home Back down the driveway, and I'm suddenly alone Dedicated to my old house, which was along the road I used to run.