Run Until You Turn Weightless

Run little girl;
run until your lungs give out
and your legs scream for an end,
and then keep running.

Life is a race, little one,
and if you run fast enough
you just might win.
But be careful;
there are obstacles 
ready to be thrown in your way,
and sometimes the cars refuse to merge. 

It's hard sometimes
to keep going
- I know it is - 
but trust me,
just keep running
and it'll get easier:
you'll get stronger 
and sooner or later
your lungs will expand
and your legs will numb
and your body will 
rise up and down 
with the buoyancy of ease
and become weightless.

So run little girl;
run until your legs turn strong
and your lungs don't burn as brightly.
Run until the pavement
and the heat
and the exhaustion disappear
and you're simply floating on air.
Run until your body goes numb
and all you feel is the splendid
natural high of endorphins
fighting the pain.

They told me to stop running
- silly doctors -
they worry that my body can't take it.
What they will never understand
is that my body needs this:
I need this
because it stops the pain. 
I run to feel
and not to feel. 
I run to escape 
because life seems so much simpler
when it's just you and the road 
and a pair of worn out sneakers. 
I run because it's the only thing 
I know how to do anymore.

I run because,
if I didn't,
I'd be running on the inside anyways,
and I might as well get somewhere.

So run little girl;
run because it heals your wounds.
Run because it's the only thing
you're good at.
Run because eventually
you'll get stronger,
and one day 
you'll be able to breathe again.

Copyright © Elizabeth Nathaniel | Year Posted 2011

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