Power Walk # 174 - Feb. 10, 2025

imagine walking on hot coals or a

New Yorker’s footwork at rush hour   

it’s a pre-panicked hustle with muscle

132,133, 134  

counting steps helps the boredom

I wiz under beautiful singing bird

speed by the yard with a new pool

stretch up to get a bouncy glimpse

616, 617  

a scarlet bougainvillea blurs by

no time to stare at the hoarder’s house

I force my head down  

concrete is my friend

1284  

to most I just wave   I startle

an old woman with a walker

two neighbors turn as I say

“power walking” and giggle

1995 

my front gate is in sight

I’m slowing and push harder

2101, 2102 and 2103

I touch the front gate

21 min. 33 sec., not even close

to my record

this poet is wrung out

sits, yawns, removes his shoes  

but there’s something wrong

in a panic he feels around for

the lyrical wit and insight

he left somewhere near here

just 22 minutes ago