I'm Running Because My Legs Can Only Walk
Why are you running? Where are You Going?
At Taco Bell, I stood before the fryers placing taco shells in rows
in the metal baskets before they were dipped in hot boiling oil.
I stood wearing those Walmart shoes that were required
and cost me $30 that I really could not afford.
I stood with all the hope and pride I could stand,
thinking any job could make my life better.
I stood as long as I could,
equating to only 4.5 hours
and that wasn't good --
no not good enough.
I see that woman jogging on the sidewalk near the beach or the bay ---
it's always the same woman...
wearing the perfect jogging suit and jogging to a specifically practiced pace
as if she began jogging right out of the womb.
She looks down on me as I drive by in my used car
and she judges me for flicking the ashes of my cigarette out of my window ---
Then I mock her efforts to defy death knowing the next hurricane could destroy every comfort that she works so hard to enjoy.
I press on the gas pedal and speed past her, past the beach,
back to the freeway where there is less traffic,
smiling at the rows of trees that hide the ugly neighborhoods,
letting the wind that flows through my open windows provide
goosebumps on my skin --- letting the spirit of life in....
knowing my only lovers are the wind and the water.
That woman jogger annoys my mind again as I seethe in envy
recalling the times I could land a perfect cartwheel and roundoff ---
and knowing that my frail knees can hardly make it out of the car
at this point.
I'm running because my legs can only walk.
I'm singing because my legs can barely dance.
I'm shooting stars with invisible arrows because
my imagination is better than any donation I've received.
Yet, my proverbial legs made of chrome, gas, and mechanics
only take me in circles of contemplation and original philosophy ---
back to "Wherever you go, you still have you to deal with"
and the cards dealt still reflect the nowhereness
like the glistening golden diamonds of sunlight on the still waters
of the rivers, lakes, and oceans.
About the Creator
Shanon Angermeyer Norman
Gold, Published Poet at allpoetry.com since 2010. USF Grad, Class 2001.
Currently focusing here in VIVA and Challenges having been ECLECTIC in various communities. Upcoming explorations: ART, BOOK CLUB, FILTHY, PHOTOGRAPHY, and HORROR.
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More stories from Shanon Angermeyer Norman and writers in Poets and other communities.
Teacher Lesson Plan 2: Creativity and Evolution
Reading books and watching documentaries is the typical and classical approach to education in regular school houses or institutions; However, some of the Montessori philosophies and principles can be applied to Secondary Education levels without too much disruption to the "normal" sit down and don't cause chaos idea. Regardless if you are in a classroom with children or pre-teens, or if you're trying to see if Geometry can compete with Instagram or some teenager's raging hormones, you should remember this: Students love learning and enjoy learning when it is FUN. Some of the smartest students in the classroom may not participate or engage in lessons because they either already know the information or it simply doesn't challenge them enough to be interesting or worthy of their attention. FUN defies those factors. When a lesson or activity is FUN, the students don't mind if they already know, and they forget they weren't interested because FUN made it interesting. Not all teachers are FUN. As a matter of fact, most of the teachers I had the pleasure of learning from had a serious lack of humor. I think before I graduated, most of the teachers I learned from had to take a class in "How Not to Be Fun" and they all aced it.
By Shanon Angermeyer NormanExclusive • 3 months ago
Day 4 of Quitting
If this is how sobriety feels, maybe it’s better to go through life a little buzzed… this, along with other hits like, I want to kill myself, I wish I was dead, and I’m going to throw myself off a bridge have been the only thoughts on rotation these past few days. I promise myself that if, in a month, I still feel like this (‘this’ meaning despondent, full of rage, and simultaneously numb) I can go back to smoking. Until mid-February though? Nicotine is off the table.
By sleepy drafts7 days ago in Longevity
Comments (1)
There's a lot that you've gotten into this piece! Well done!