On your mark… get set… the gun goes off,
the race is on.
Eyes are fixed on the finish line;
hearts intent on the gold.
But preparation was a
slow and painful process:
one foot in front of the other,
stretch that muscle, bend that knee.
Free the mind, take the hurdles one by one.
Dare to dream of wild beginnings;
flaming sunsets and purple forests,
think beyond the copper track.
One foot in front of the other,
limbering, stretching, growing,
girls become women, boys become men;
and life ripens as they ready themselves.
The transition from fantasy to reality –
nothing but hard, grueling work;
and there are no quitters on the field,
not them; not those who seek the gold.
They will live and love and learn
through the growing process.
They will rest and pause to see the sunset,
they will breathe the fresh new day;
they will color their lives with boldness
before the finish line, before the gold, before the end.

©Carmen Ruggero 2007