sideliners

run away from a starting point

keep time like a marching band

with the sound off
looking off into another time and space

remaining on a track that never stops

keep passing that same sideliner
sitting off left in the bleachers

watching without interest

the dust kick up from new tennis shoes

if there was a reward

an Eskimo pie off in the distance?

perhaps incentive could quell 
this sense of dread

feet keep thumping like a heartbeat

afraid if I stop 
the voice in my head
will scare 
the other runners

where are all the cheer leaders
when you need them most?