Getting in Shape

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GETTING IN SHAPE


“Phall if you will, rise you must” — Finnegan’s Wake


A chilly evening when I finally

opened the door, laced up,


and set out, overconfident

and at an unsustainable clip.


Confession came in gasps

of thin air, as did the answer:


heaven unbuttoning in a deep-V, 

and a multitude of the feathered 


host flapping overhead—40-odd

at least—giving shape 


to this wintering hope

that there’s still a horizon


worth making towards,

even for those of us 


starting late as February

and staggering beneath


the weight of our cross-

training, sucking wind after only 


the first, uphill mile.


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