running

I hear my heartbeat in my ears

I feel my breath quicken

I hear my beat-up sneakers

With barely enough traction

Slamming against the wet concrete

I hear the pattern in my head

In boom out

In boom out

In boom out

I am running.

I am not running to train

Or running for speed

I am running to stop the ache

Pain in the body quiets pain in the heart

Anything to take my mind off the way I feel

With every beat and breath 

I feel the thoughts leaving my mind

In boom out

In boom out

In boom out

I pick up the pace

My heart followed suit

I begin to think

Now my head is clear

The pain in my body only slightly rang in my ears

I keep going

In boom out

In boom out

In boom out

It feels like the world stops spinning

A thousand thoughts flood my mind

My heart cannot keep up

So I push harder

I use the earth to move faster

In boom out

In boom out

In boom out

I keep running until my legs feel like the water falling from the sky

Something clicks

I feel every movement 

The ringing in my ears calms

I can only hear my breath

The busy road silences 

In boom out

In boom out

In boom out

I stop running

Running from my problems

Running from my past

Running away from my future

I walk

I put my headphones in

I turn the volume up 

In boom out 

In boom out

In boom out

I ignore the horns blaring at me

I cross the street

There's so much light

Flashing all around me

I cross the train tracks

Ignoring the even louder horn

In boom out

In boom out

In boom out

I hear one final sound

A gut-wrenching scream 

Boom. 

I wake up

Realizing it was all a dream

Oh, how I wish
I were still dreaming.