If podium goal can wait -II
Let the top runners run a way ahead of me,
Let them hold their coveted trophies high,
Just to finish, my modest version feels happy;
True beauty this of long-distance running, feel I.
Every runner carries a story with him:
Some have faced a bitter breakup or a lost job,
Some confront middle age and fight low self-esteem,
Weary victims of dull days all, all blending with the mob.
As the heavy kilometers are getting killed,
The old gulf in my confidence begins to yield,
Anxieties and deep hurts get quietly healed
As empty space before the finish line is filled.
My lungs burn with a clean, honest fire--
A welcome distraction from the weight on my chest,
This pain, a fair reward for my old ire,
Sweat washing clean the scars of my quiet conquest.
It all begins with a few tentative steps
Driven by the most benign motives of the crowd,
To make friends with strangers, to earn their claps,
Slowly forming a habit that makes a person proud.
Life is not won by a wooden podium’s call
If only we have the patience to wait,
A long-distance journey awaits us all,
Whether or not a few medals await their fate.
__________________________________
Reflections | 04.08.2026 | analogy, ambition, competition, goal, prize, race, Quatrain
Note: This piece reflects on competing with the self with an aim to improve rather than winning a medal, taking an illustration of long-distance running. The lines of the quatrain with varying lengths follow a relaxed rhyming rhythm.
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