Across the Finish Line… So Close

Short walks
From the parking lot
We don’t talk
Need the perfect spot
Hear screams of tires
Feel the bass of engines
With an occasional misfire
This is the place of legends
From ground to feet
Like elephants stampeding
Across the heated concrete
With the loser conceding

Corndogs and racing fuel
Burning rubber and exhaust
The crackle of the duel
Center lines meant not to be crossed

Echoes of announcements
As men hoping to benefit
Playing the part of celebrants
Bet on those sitting in cockpits

Burnouts and nitrous purges
The revved up monsters
Suddenly converge
Each one hoping to be stronger

Engines sounding like gurgling lava flows
Toe to toe with bumpers on the line
The green light begins to glow
Their eagerness is genuine
Like Olympic athletes
Reacting to the crack of a starter pistol
Anxious to compete
Chased by their ghosts
They shoot like bullets
Across the finish line, so close

 

 

 

Memories Cut Short – The Gathering

The slight darkness of morning
Was shattered with a hundred birds taking off
Cutting through the crisp morning air
From one side of the road to the other

I was in my car
Driving in a dream
Mentally preparing for tasks

A dream of sleepiness
Perfect melodies
Last memories of little arms
Wrapped around my neck
Hugging and kissing

A drive filled with an incredible
Undeniable
Feeling of love, need and longing

Turning the corner
He was there on the pavement
Back down
Flat against the pavement
Worried had gathered
A morning now tattered

Struck while lost in a memory of his own
One that ended with tires
And the feeling of flying

I prayed
I hoped

I had to believe that
This moment would be quickly passing
And a lesson about looking both ways
Would be the dressing.