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Learning to Listen

Every day is a good day when you run.

~Kevin Nelson

When you run, you learn to listen

to your body: the tiny bones

of your feet as your shoes

tap the pavement — from sidewalk

to street you pad along

on tree-lined paths

accompanied by birdsong.

You grow to expect your quads

to respond, your calves

to urge you on, your wind

to answer the call

as you pass your mile markers.

On moist days, your knees

creak, cranky beneath

thin skin, scar tissue,

tendons that strain

under your weight.

Only when you stop

can you hear your heart,

blood pulsing in

your neck, wrist, chest,

repeating, “This is what

we were meant to do.”

— Ed Meek —