Thursday, July 3, 2008

Maybe This Is Why I Work So Hard


This was on Writer's Almanac this morning and it really spoke to me.

The Rider

by Naomi Shihab Nye

A boy told me
if he roller-skated fast enough
his loneliness couldn't catch up to him,
the best reason I ever heard
for trying to be a champion.
What I wonder tonight
pedaling hard down King William Street
is if it translates to bicycles.
A victory! To leave your loneliness
panting behind you on some street corner
while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas,
pink petals that have never felt loneliness,
no matter how slowly they fell.

Wonderful poet. I was introduced to her a few months ago, and I just can't get enough of her.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so beautiful. And I completely get that. I guess we have things we "run" from and race against.

Loneliness is at that top of the list for many of us.

Peace to you. And give your blog log in info to someone you trust. It's like insurance. And may you never need it.

Hugs,
Lisa

Anne said...

Wonderful poem.

I think she came to speak at my high school... but I'm not sure.

TBM said...

Beautiful! I wish I could write like that.

Brave Sir Robin said...

JAPRA -

:)

Me too!

Bee said...

Nye's is such a beautiful, sane voice.

I haven't read this poem before, so thank you!

Bitty said...

Nye rocks. This is one of my favorites.