Against the Wind

To The Lady on the Train,

Today I will run further than I ever have so far. I will pound my feet into asphalt to cover a time and distance that a year ago would have been impossible for me. My knees will ache, my lungs will burn and I will want to stop. 

I am no longer a young man. I do not have the body that you once knew. Gravity and time are winning this fight. But I am not rolling over and lying down. 

I will continue to prop up the scaffolding of my bones. I will squeeze out what strength remains in my diminishing muscles. And I will continue to look out through my eyes behind this ever wrinkling and sagging face. 

I am still here but I fear that what you see is falling down of this body; the weight, the wrinkles, the sag of my cheeks, and the grey beard of an old man. Youth is wasted on the young. 

I will run and I will push to find my limits. I will not go out without a fight. And I will hope that sometimes you might be able to catch a glimpse of the man that I once was. I’m still here. 

The Man in the Station