It’s one-one-two-three

January 1st, twenty twenty three

A foggy start here on the East Coast

My husband and I piled in

My brother too

He wanted to meet people and get in better shape

So we brought him with us to the cape

We’d talked him into his first race

We all drove to the end of the highway, to the boardwalk

We parked and got out

The chilly air was a mild shock

I watched two women in stilettos

At 9 am they entered the pub

The cold pinched my toes

Underneath my running shoes

Familiar faces gathered again at the start line

Fit bodies

The horn blared

We took off down the path

What an odd hobby

The sun shined, unveiling the ocean

Cool air in my lungs

Nothing in my hands

Moving fast

The post-Christmas purge

What a blast

I saw my brother running

On a Sunday morning

200-some in a human surge

We all crossed the finish line

Afterward my husband, my brother, and I played on the gymnastics rings

New Years Day

It felt like spring

I took a break and stared at the ocean

Then I heard some commotion further down the beach

I saw one of the women who I saw before in the heels

She stood on the water’s edge

Leaned on one foot and pulled off her shoe

Dipped her toe in the water to get a feel

Then she switched sides

She chucked her shoes one by one into the tide

From her bag she pulled out some sneakers

She put them on

She turned around and our eyes met

The scene couldn’t have been bleaker

Mascara was running down her face, which was wet

She took off jogging, left her bag behind

I went with my brother and husband back to the truck

I thought about the ocean’s depth

And that woman, what was on her mind

I looked over at the pub as we drove away

In the corner outside a woman slept

She had high heels on

Did she know her friend was gone

On one-seven-twenty-twenty three

I saw that woman who had stood on the shore

She was now at the start line with me

And something interesting

My brother was there again too

They were talking

My husband and I eavesdropping

“I used to be a ballerina,” she said

“Well, let’s go dancing,” my brother said

On two, two, twenty twenty four they wed

Now we all venture to the ocean

We run the boardwalk

We play on the rings

On occasion we all even go dancing

What things can you toss this year

Let go of your pride, even expectations, and fear

Run your race

Sway on the rings

Change your shoes

While you’re alive

You don’t know if you’ll be here for twenty twenty five