Best Athlete Poems
"more than an athlete"
from the moment of birth you stood tall
with balance and strength you ran strong
for the love of freedom you were above all
it wasn't that you were a champion to rule
no other compared or could sing your song
trumpets sounded for you to hear
at that moment the sword was near
more than an athlete you remain Secretariat
three fine races were yours for the winning
demonstrating power excellence endurance
you set both stage and show from the beginning
with fullness of wonderment heart and eagerness
to this day your legacy is held with reverence
although one other ran your race to fame
your body of strength is a burning flame
more than an athlete you remain Secretariat
SkyWatcher - 05-28-17
Secretariat
March 30 1970 to October 4 1989
Triple Crown Winner June 9 1973
Out of the ether once came a small child
who hoped to one day fly thru the air.
Diligently applying herself, learning a style,
performing higher leaps, tapping the rare.
She performed somersaults, all in her stride,
with greater and more intelligent ease.
Winning honors and gold medals worldwide,
winning hearts with technical expertise
She became the world's new daring upstart
"sensational, uncanny, never fails,"
They didn't care that she led with her heart
and began to believe all of the tales.
As heroes may do, she took a misstep
and stumbled as the world was looking on.
the fault came not because she was inept,
the world on her shoulders became too strong.
A lesson to be learned: tho brave they are
some athletes just barely more than a child.
We expect all heroes to be bright stars
so we can foster their dreams for a while.
We forget they're human, just as we are
with mightier longings and goals, perhaps.
We must forgive occasional dimmed stars,
help them stand if they sometimes collapse.
Bike ride,
air through my hair,
sunshine dousing my skin.
Dirt and splashed mud cover wheels.
Sweat drips
heat rises, thigh to palm to cheek.
Music comes from nature,
leaf and rock crunch
below tire.
People don't play sports because its fun, ask any athlete most of them hate it, but
they couldn't imagine their life without it.
Its part of them, the love hate relationship it’s what they live for. They live for the
practices, the parties, and the cheers.
They live for the long bus rides, all the invitationals, and the countless
pairs of shoes, and of course, coaches’ you hate but yet appreciate.
They live for the way it feels when going into double over time and then wining by
one point, and then knowing those two extra sprints they ran in practice were
worth it.
They live for the way they become a family with the team, they live for the
countless songs they sing in there head while a coach conditions them like
there’s no tomorrow.
They live for the competition; they live for the glory, the memories, and
the satisfaction.
It’s who they are, it's who we are. WE ARE ATHLETES!
(Live strong and Live free)
Presence of fused endurance.
Fueled by your strength.
The break of sweat brought on by diverse motion.
Course of steady breathe.
Elevated throbbing muscles ignite.
Flaccid no more.
Stress free tranquil mind.
Gratification sets on this well deserved athlete.
As to wait for dawn to wake me another day.
To know just where your're going
You must know where you've been
You must respect the history
The things others have seen
It's true in all things relative
Be it music, sports or life
If you don't know where you came from
You're just dancing on a knife
Gherig, Ruth and Robinson
May, and Mantle, Seaver too
Respect their contributions
And don't just say Ruth who?
Respect where things have come from
And the players of the past
Because you learn and make things better
It's what makes the damn game last
Jimmy Foxx, Bob Gibson, Kaline
Nestor Chylak and The Goose
They made baseball special
They gave the game a little juice
Orr, Richard and Gretzky
Gordie Howe and Howie Morenz
You have to know about them
You need the beginning to your ends
Bob Baun and Bill Barilko
Connie Smythe and yeah...the Chief
You have to know their history
They're what it is to be a Leaf
The game has changed immensely
Things can not go back in time
But to me...the old alumni
Made the game I know as mine
Respect the ones before you
The ones who laid the groundwork down
The ones who made it special
The non-pretenders to the crown
Elvis, Buddy, Harrison
Played the songs inside their heart
Lennon, Wilson and the rest
They all played a real big part
Every single generation
should learn from the one before
For if they don't know where they've come from
Then what has it all been for?
Nicklaus, Palmer, Bobby Jones
Sarazen and Hogan too
They pushed the gameright to it's limits
Now the pressure's upon you
The new breed are the teachers now
They're the ones to lead the way
When twenty or so years from now
You'll hear somebody say
"Respect who came before you
The ones who made us so damn proud
LIke Nash and , Perry and Taylor Hall
They played the game so loud
Pudge, Jeter, and Verlander
they brought it up a notch
They were there to stretch the limits
Not to just sit by and watch
Rory, Justin Rose and Mahan
Bubba, Dustin and the rest
They are the players of the future
They all respected the games best
So, to know where you are going
You must know where you have been
Respect, past through the future
And all that's happened in between.
When I was in high school, we had mandatory gym
Because it made us healthy, and because it kept us slim
So every day we'd work out for about an hour
Then we'd be told to take a lap and then go hit the shower
I wasn't very good at sports, and really not too fast
Whenever we would run the track, I'd usually come in last
But in my class there were some guys quite skilled in sports it seems
Some who ran cross country and some on the track team
I remember on one given day while running round the track
Although I wasn't leading, I wasn't too far back
As we came round the last turn they weren't too far ahead
So instead of keeping up my pace I picked up speed instead
My breath was pretty ragged and both legs felt like lead
But my will was strong to beat them, so I just surged ahead
And just when I thought I would die I gave one final burst
And miracle of miracles, I had come in first
The coach said “you can leave now, you're done for the day”
Then turning to the other guys said “I want you to stay”
Then he crushed my euphoria, so help me, I'm not lying
He told them to run it again, if I beat them they weren't trying
A spiral pass
Shoulder pads pop
Tomorrow, training wheels
What a sunny day
A bike ride through the city
But you're feeling gloomy
Envious of the ordinary
As you pass people doing chores
While your mind is only thinking
Why on earth am I competing
One of the cars please hit me
And save me from the agony
Though my body is ready
Dying is so damn scary
Expected to perform
The stress is on you, no jokes
Even if the rest are weak
You've still got your best to beat
In life many are the races
For varying requirements to cater
Because of an undeniable fact
That different abilities people got
The capabilities differing even further
There are those who are too fast
They will sprint for a few seconds,
Then hold their breath in rest
They choose the 100 meters race
Others moderate but sure
They will take the 21km half marathon
Others less moderate but more certain
They will do the 42 km marathon?
What happens when one overestimates;
His speed and gets into the 100meters race?
His strength and joins the 21 km race?
His perseverance and joins the 42 km race?
But what happens when adrenalin malfunctions?
And one lies to himself that he’s an athlete
I would rather be sure am one
Then slow but sure do the 42 km marathon
Perhaps victory upon me would come, who knows?
Final fifteen minutes of wait
All the fears are building up
But there's no pressure release valve
So you better hold it together, stay cool
Cooler than the sweat running down your spine
Looking at others and their poker faces
As if you all went to different acting schools
All pretending to be the killers of the room
Reminding you to rehearse your moves
Forecasting what others will do
Now you're feeling tactically superior
Jumping in excitement you're ready to go
Damn starter, please don't take long...
The pistol fires, stampede ensues
Your body knows where to move
Mind ogling if it's looking good
Sealing the choice of your group
A moment of relaxation though you're racing on
The next heartbeat your painless state is gone
The agony begins but you can't fold
Survive a little more and clear your thoughts
Focus on what's ahead and who to attack
With the last two hundred and fifty remaining
You accelerate pass a group of victims
They're foolish to retaliate on the bend
Now it's straight to the finish line
You've been seeing red for a while
But the question is who can do it a little longer
You know you won't break first, pushing on
Sacrificing a piece of your soul
You pay the price to wear that gold
"I can't decide," she said,
"Whether you're an aesthete
Or an athlete,
A poet or a reprobate."
"Even when I'm a lout,
I'm an aesthete," he answered,
"I lure, rather than seek."
"So why do you
Need to dress up?"
"Like Ronald Firbank,
I suffer from a need
To give an outward show
Of my significance.
His lifestyle is an uncanny
Parallel
To my own young manhood.
I alienated people
Through a crippling shyness,
Which I disguised
With my violently idiosyncratic
Behaviour, wore cosmetics
And wrote novels
That reflected the luxurious
Lifestyle of a bygone age.
The sensation
Of never quite belonging
Lingered about me always;
That's why
I became an actor.
Through heavy experiences
I have built up
A stoned wall
Resistance
Against arrogance and aloofness.
I am a sophisticated cynic
With a kind heart
And a tendency towards regret."
("The Athlete, the Poet and the Reprobate" is based largely on writings created when I was about 20, and And in its original form, constituted some kind of
unfinished fantastical novel.)
Athlete
legs swollen
dragged from the field
feeling pain, loss and shock
wept
Sipping a drink, watching the show
A dozen disciplines you'd swap with
But now it's too late, your heart's spoken
Time to embrace what it's chosen
With an hour to spare, you roll out
Like a drunk man who just stood up
A frightening realization hits you
Your mouth is dry and legs heavy
What a day to feel crappy
There's a calming thought though
The strangest things happen once it's on
Underperforming when feeling strong
Breaking records when expecting lows
Following this line of optimism
You remember there's more
All the days you've trained before
Those efforts aren't magically gone
The starting signal will jolt your bones
For your sleeping shape a wake-up call
Better stop thinking and let it flow
Else you might stay in bed, dreaming on
As a seventeen year old competitive swimmer,
the other swimmer I looked up to was Mark Spitz,
he was a multiple gold medal winner,
a wonder in the water, a swimming blitz.
I had Olympic dreams,
my element was the aquatic,
but life took me in another direction, it seemed,
the lure of going to practices seemed less exotic.
How I loved the smell of the pool chlorine,
I sliced through the water as if a dolphin,
I so cherished the marine,
but other obligations needed to fit in.
The working world was calling,
and aspiring for the Game's gold had to
be retired,
but I was elated Mark had world records
falling,
and I still feel inspired.
As another Summer Olympics comes to
a close,
I'm proud of the athletes who devote their
time and sweat to their sport,
and I surely suppose,
I'll always treasure my long ago youth
in New York. ~