Page 26 - 2017 Autumn-Winter Issue
P. 26
© ihervas / stock.adobe.com Now I Run Alone
by Jack Mackey
We didn’t follow my plan.
At first I heard
the tap-patting of your sneakers next to mine
I slowed us down
teaching, holding
We were supposed to stay together
take it slow
cross the finish line together.
The mile clock blinked our lazy time as we swam
through the dusky mist
through wet evening soggy air
and garden hose spray
we sweat through our clothes
down our tanned legs
our breath heavy, strong, together
not knowing
we’d do this
only one more time.
Only tonight we darted
through the dwindling numbers, up the lonely hill,
gaining speed as our bodies
settled into synchronous steps
then surged.
You stayed next to me,
feet patting the pavement when you didn’t speak
turning suddenly,
asking –
Dad, can I go on ahead?
I released my grip -
Be careful!
Watching your hair wave
among
the strewn and struggling masses
turning a corner
run on and
finish ahead of me.
Jack Mackey is a retired management consultant. He lives in Rehoboth Beach,
Delaware with his partner and their Cairn terrier. This poem was inspired by
his son Kevin, who was a runner. Kevin was killed at age 14 by a drowsy driver.
2 6 |We Need Not Walk Alone