Big Blood: Day 22

Why would you do that on purpose?
Nobody gets it, unless they've caught the bug
They call it punishment, the way I've fallen in love
With putting one foot in front of the other

Drivers crane their necks like I'm Rocky

Crazed in a gray sweatsuit

As I chug to the top of hill after hill

My bursting heart meets my headrush;
That intersection is what I call soul.
I'm on top of it all
I know what I'm made of:
Big blood.

The curves of the hills and trails
Mimic the form of a mother's breast
The way they softly soothe

I don't think I can throw a ball very far,
Or say the right things at the right time.
But I think that, no, I know that
I can put one foot in front of the other.

Salty sweat dries onto my skin
Limp hair sticks to my pink face
I look in the mirror, kindly for once
This is as beautiful as I've ever looked

The pavement talks back to me
I am panting, cursing, spitting
And the warm ground thanks me
For gasping my way out here to visit her

Life is watching things run away

Your childhood dog, your faith

Imaginary friends, your fleeting beauty

Past lovers, the way you used to dream

This, right here, is where it all comes back

It's when you can lace up your shoes

And catch the things you've lost

Prompt: "In her poem, Thanking My Mother for Piano Lessons, Diane Wakoski is far more grateful than I ever managed to be, describing the act of playing as a “relief” from loneliness and worry, and as enlarging her life with something beautiful. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem about something you’ve done – whether it’s music lessons, or playing soccer, crocheting, or fishing, or learning how to change a tire – that gave you a similar kind of satisfaction, and perhaps still does."