Three years ago my mom
said running was too harmful to my body;
So I hung up my shoes,
returned my uniform back to my coach.

Dirt and dust build up
on my shoes while they
sit alone in my garage.
Last week I went
out in my garage and
reached out to my shoes.
I whispered, “Your shoes are like
the love in your heart,
you give it up
and you lose it all.”

I walked around the pond behind
my high school and rediscovered
the paths I used
to run on with my team.
My thoughts wore thin,
and I paced back home
beside the busy streets
without a thought in my head.

At home, miles from
the track I used to know and love,
I grasp my phone and text
my old teammates. We talk
as if nothing changed, as if
I never left the team.

Each of us friends forever.