Running Poems

The following poems written by me were inspired by my own running experiences and those of others as well.

Journey To The Unknown

A 3,100 mile orbit of concrete,
Automobiles and local humanity,
Lightly spiced with a hint of nature
And
Fed by the Grace of God,
Supported with the efforts of friends
Who sympathize with the pain,
The joys
And
The challenges
Facing at every moment
The handful of hero-warriors.

Running, walking, struggling
To the beat of their own
Undying aspirations
Of this fifty-one day
Epic adventure,
These Ultimate Survivors
Of obstacles unimaginable
Are proving to humanity
With their unparalleled perseverance
And
Adamantine wills
That the impossible
Can be done,
And
The Universal Energy
Can be unleashed
To raise our standards
And
Lift our minds
Beyond the limits
Of our broken bodies
And
Faithless thoughts,
To reveal the Beauty
And
The Power
Of Life’s long and arduous
Journey to the Unknown.
 
Poetry In Motion                                 

A reality unique
As we circle the block
With no end in sight,
Seeing life unfold all around us
From sunrise to midnight.

The energy intensifies
As the world slowly awakens,
Bursting with activity
For a time undetermined
As we continue our trek
Day after day,
Week after week,
With unrelenting determination and focus
Not meant for the meek.

We strive for a goal indescribable
With our cries and our smiles,
Not defined by the limits
Of time nor the distance
Incorporated into its name:
3100 Miles.

Self-Transcendence
Is a more accurate description
Of this unfathomable experience
Of our progress towards a goal,
Where time is our friend
As long as we are in motion,
And where countless struggles
And boundless jubilation
Accompany us to the end. 

As we approach our final destination
Be it distance or time,
With indispensable help from our friends
We have successfully crossed
A formidable Ocean
Of patience and pain,
Sorrows and joys,
And in this unfolding process
With undaunted devotion,
We have become
Poetry in motion.


Once Upon A Marathon
A barefoot runner,
Sleek and lithe,
A body full of light,
Sprints past the field
And courageously breaks the tape,
An often repeated sight.

Years go by,
Another home
ln a foreign land,
With burdens frequent and intense,
He trains his aging body
For a brand new role:
To run longer and longer,
Never losing his focus
On his ever-increasing goal.

At the age of forty seven
With a strong and steady pace,
He successfully completes
His first Marathon race.

Never satisfied with yesterday’s achievements,
And with Self-Transcendence
As his Mantra,
Only three short weeks later
He smashes his first Marathon time,
By almost 35 minutes,
Breaking the heralded
Four hour barrier.

By the year’s end
He completed seven full
Marathon races,
Mingled among his
Incredibly busy life activities
Of service to the world,
And spreading peace to many places.

The next year he ran two Marathons,
A year later he ran three.
Courageously he managed six full Marathons
In his fourth year of climbing
The ‘Marathon-Tree’.

Four more Marathons
Rounded out his Marathon running journey
In his last year of pushing his body
Along the Marathon ‘highway’.

Although he had run
Some races longer,
And many, many races
Shorter and faster,
Steadier and stronger,
The Marathon was his special love
Always blessed with Grace from Above.

His efforts now strengthen our resolve,
As his words echo in our hearts:
“O Marathon runner,
God the Smiler-Winner.”
And now we can run for him,
And he can run through us,
As we feel his Love for us,
His Love for God,
And his Love for running,
Which will live on and on,
Especially in the Marathon.
 

 
Our Marathon Master
Chico: 4:31:34,
You bravely opened
The marathon door.

Toledo: 3:55:07,
You powerfully smashed
Obstruction-door,
And
Sent us all to Heaven.

Step By Step
Step by step,
Breath by breath,
Our mind has not to think,
We just run and run
Until we reach our goal.

Pray and pray,
Meditate and meditate,
Our mind has not to think,
We just fly and fly
Until our Goal reaches us.


Run A Mile
Run a mile,
You will acquire a smile.
 
Run 26.2 miles.
You will smile for days.

Run for days.
Your smile will earn
His Heavenly Gaze.


Life, My River
Life, my river.
Carry me with my imperfections
To the Ocean Vast,
And
Turn me into a self-giver
So I can unburden myself
And others,
Never to sink into the past.

Please keep my head above the water
So I can breathe in nectar-sweet,
And
Energize my life with Love and Light,
So that I can finally become complete.


Matt's Hat
Your hat covers your head,
Your head houses your face,
Your face tells the story of incredible Grace
In this historic race.

Your face of humility,
Gratitude and Joy,
Showed us last night
The story of a boy
Who took on a heroic man's task
With a cheerful demeanor
And accomplished a feat
Most others would not dare even ask.

After 60 days
And a few pounds leaner,
You became our hero, a God-send,
Joining the handful of other heroes
Who finished before you,
And inspired you to the very end.
 
So you have all paved the way
For those who will dare
To follow you there
To the Goal which is at
The end of the road,
And now under your hat.
 Thank you dear Matt.


PEACE RUNNER
To feel the Peace
And give it shape,
To spread the feeling
Without reservation or condition.

To run tall and proud
While sharing with the world
The warm glow of Peace
Embodied by the Torch,
The symbol of all
That we aspire for.
A yearning Cry,
A need for Love,
A powerful Force
To break through the pain
Of the world’s endless injustice.

Freedom to dream,
Freedom to think, to create.
To respect the lives
Of all who breathe
And all who have shared
The Breath of Life.


What’s It All About?

It’s not about winning.
It’s not about wealth.
It’s not about glory,
Or even just your health.
So what ‘s it all about,
All this running that we do?
It’s about Love.
That’s all I will say,
The rest is up to you.


 I Feel,  I Act, I Know

I feel bravely
With my heart,
When I am at the start.

I act powerfully
With my feet,
When I run on the street.

I know certainly
With my soul,
When I finally
Reach the goal.


Start-Run-Finish

The Start , the Finish
And
All the steps
We run in between
Can be seen
As many separate experiences,
Or
Can be taken
As one complete meal,
Ready to be eaten
When we are hungry
To be nourished
By the dynamic energy
Of life on earth.


We Run, We Sing

We run, we run.
We sing, we sing,
And
We try to bring
Into life
All that is positive
And uplifting,
Even before we reach
The finish line.



No Stopping

Let’s not stop
When the race is over.
We have to continue
And
Carry on
With our efforts
To strive for Truth
By transcending
Yesterday’s goal
And
Continue running
To the Goal Beyond.


Spinning
Spinning and spinning
In an endless orbit
For eons countless,
This Universe
And
All of her children
Are always in motion
From the largest planets
To the tiniest atoms.
So what is wrong with us?
We must participate
In the Cosmic Game
And
Run and run
Until the play is done.



No Joke, No Joke
Your legs are tired,
You cannot run anymore,
Your energy is fading fast.
Should you stop?
Should you rest?
Or is it just a test
To see how much
Grace you can invoke
To transcend yesterday’s
Achievements?
No joke, no joke!
 

Our Goal, Our Source
I have stumbled,
I have fallen
And
I have even gotten lost.
But still I shall
Stay the course,
And
Keep running
On the path
To the real Goal,
And
Our real Source.


Another Race
If I run another race,
Will I gain another Grace?
Will I keep a soulful smile
On this tired but happy face?



April Fools
It’s April First.
So who are the fools?
Are they those who
Seek the Truth
And
Abide by
Universal Rules?
Or
Are they those
Who care only
For power,
Prestige, wealth and fame?

If we run along
The True Path
And
Take life as one big school,
We can be sure that
When our Final April comes,
We will not be called
A Fool.

The Master
Sitting still
In a deep
And profound meditation,
You never stop running
Selflessly to your children
With the gifts
Of Light and Delight
That  you so lovingly offer
At every moment.

You never stop running
To offer Your Vision
Of the One True Goal
And
The world of the Soul.



The Boston Marathon
108 years and running,
From Hopkinton to 'Beantown',
A joyous occassion for all.

A roller coaster ride
That lasts for hours
Through Ashland and Framingham,
Natick and Wellesley,
With thousands supporting
And cheering the runners
All along the way,
On this Monday in April,
Called Patriot's Day.

The longer hills start in Newton,
With Heartbreak included,
Then Brookline is next,
With nothing eluded
As you finally get to Boston proper,
And you've nearly passed your test
Of endurance and patience,
With only a few miles left.

Now you see the giant Citgo sign
As you approach Kenmore Square,
With a mile to go
And you are almost there.
Then you pass Fenway Park,
Where the Red Sox are playing,
And into the heart of the City,
With a right onto Hereford,
And a left onto Boylston,
You can now see the Finsh Line,
So sweet and so near.
Then you give it your all
To finally get to the goal,
In beautifully crowded Copley Square.

When it's all over you'll be
One of the thousands and thousands
Who have finished
This immortal race,
Fast or slow,
It's not about pace.
It's about the courage, the grace,
In toeing the line
26.2 miles back,
And covering the distance
With the rest of  the pack,
Through the joys and the pain,
With nothing to lose
And only Immortality to gain.

Arpan DeAngelo