Running Helps Me Breathe
On the strange medicine of putting one foot in front of the other — and how the body teaches things the mind keeps forgetting.
There’s a thing the body does, on the right run, that nothing else can do for me. This poem is about that.
Running helps me breathe
And helps me achieve
Things I could only dream
Like having self-esteem
And having a body I’m proud of
I’ve had a hard time with self-love
But running is always there
You can bring it with you anywhere
Sometimes I forget I have that light
When I’ve slowed down, in bed at night
With thoughts of feeling low
Desperate to let them go
Yet once I start my runs
Feelings of bliss becomes
Part of my heart, part of my soul
Running is simply how I take control
Running won’t fix everything. But on the days when nothing in my head is cooperating, my legs usually are. Sometimes that’s the door back in.
— JTC