Racing the Wind

Race the wind
like you did on the edge of the earth
out West where one learns
to harness the light
and the speed of snow
just to survive.

Race the wind before you forget
what it is like
to believe in God
and what it is to trust
the stories of neighbors--
always knowing how to gather
the truth of yourself
in the reflection
of a mirror
in a single
sideways glance.

Remember, in the extremes of wind,
that matches extinguish quickly
when the breeze of breath
takes the time to blow.

Turn slowly toward another sunset
and greet the sky
that remembers
the great history
of all light
and the change
that is in every moment.
In forgiveness,
he watches all lovers
eventually stumble and fall.

The body can only race
for so long
before the heat it makes
overtakes any optimism
one might have had.

The sound of birds
becomes the gospel
in the rafters of the church
stripping away the bandages
of any hope you had of winning,
and leaves your feet bloody
and bare.

Gratefully,
faith leaves you alone
and running
against the empty threat
of all moving air
and the luxury of time.