David C. Manfredi, M.D.

RUNNING

I love to run
until rivulets of sweat
stream down my brow
soak through my tee shirt
my body wrung out
like a giant sponge

to run until
labored breathing
suffocates the sound
of my legs
pumping like pistons

to run until
there are no more bursts of energy
no more breaths to take
to exit your body
and leave it running
endlessly

to run until
you define yourself
miles per hour
calories burned
and where you want to go

—from Rattle #22, Winter 2004