clouded memory
pine needles caught
in her hair, mud in her toes
as fast and as far as
her little feet can take her.

the forest knows her by name-
long since introduced to her tears.

a solace brought by
a familiar violence,
a comfort brought by
the running that
she knows so well,
that she has mastered,
and she will continue to run
until the day she dies.

she craves to stop and catch her breath.

craves to look
at the wildflowers and
listen to the birds.

she does not see the sunrise or sunset.

she only feels the wind
pull her back, she says,
"i must run faster before
they catch up to me."

yet nothing has chased her
in over a decade.