I'll never forget the day,
I raced through new york city.

There was only one adversary,
He claimed to never lose.
He was fast and scary,
unpredictable and menacing.
I surely couldn't prevail.

Nevertheless I ran, I raced,
We were head to head the whole time.
Running with no time to waste,
Dodging puddles and pedestrians.
I even hurdled a rail.

The finish line crept into sight,
We were still neck and neck.
Running fast enough to take flight,
I realised this was my race to win.
I knew I couldn't fail.

I lengthened my stride,
I pumped my arms.
And with one last kick and a look to the side,
I leaned into the finish.
I won.

He walked around,
And caught his breath.
He approached me without a sound,
But to my surprised he stopped and smiled.
He shook my hand for what I had done.

I will never forget what happened next,
inside an infamous hot dog restaurant.
Waiting for fried twinkies out on the decks,
He told me this.
It meant a ton:

"Today you beat me fair and square,
I tried my hardest, but I failed.
We will race again, you better prepare
But if you race with that much determination,
I will never be able to beat you for fun.

I jogged back to where I began,
With quite a story to tell.
I wasn't supposed to have ran,
I put others at risk.
But if I hadn't chosen to run,

I wouldn't have learned how to beat myself.