I went on a run
This afternoon
To escape the past
Let the exercise wash over the rest

Yet no matter how far
My legs stretched
I couldn't stop placing bets
Against the future ahead

I only ran around the lake
So not that far
Still I was running
As if I was being chased
A life or death matter
Not just a game
Or a race

And you know perhaps I was?
Being chased
Not by my past
But by my shadow instead?

Running distracts me
And is great for my head
Gives me something to reach for
Someway to release the extra energy
The equivalence of taking the longest route
Through the school
Just to get to my next class

Listening to the music
Inside my head
I soon reach my goal
Slow down and walk
Until my breathing evens out

Take a stroll to the barn
Think things over in my head
Relax and breath
Knowing that I had just achieved
A four mile run

The shadow is now gone
By the way
I'm alone again
With just the thoughts in my head