Thursday, June 21, 2007

The Road and the End

I SHALL foot it
Down the roadway in the dusk,
Where shapes of hunger wander
And the fugitives of pain go by.




I shall foot it
In the silence of the morning,
See the night slur into dawn,
Hear the slow great winds arise
Where tall trees flank the way
And shoulder toward the sky.

The broken boulders by the road
Shall not commemorate my ruin.
Regret shall be the gravel under foot.
I shall watch for
Slim birds swift of wing
That go where wind and ranks of thunder
Drive the wild processionals of rain.
The dust of the traveled road
Shall touch my hands and face.


--Carl Sandberg

4 comments:

Jane said...

Lovely. I like the capitalized SHALL in the beginning. I hope you feel as emphatic and confident as that word implies. This poem is very appropriate in reference to triathlons. The "dust of the traveled road" will be all your training you've put into this. You don't need any luck this weekend, but good luck anyway.

S. Baboo said...

Nice...see you at BSLT!

Andra Sue said...

Love it. (And I'm totally NOT a poetry person.) Good luck at Buffalo Springs this weekend!!! :)

Triteacher said...

I like it. Speaks to me of being a tough Ironman-in-the-making. Know anyone who fits that description? :)