Have a read of my poem ‘Jogger At My Heels’ first published in The Canberra Times.
‘Jogger at My Heels’ is one of the poems in my second poetry collection, Flat White, One Sugar, published by Ginninderra Press: 51 poems by me, 21 illustrations by my granddaughter, Natasha Sommer, a graduate of The National Art School.
I hope you enjoy this poem.
Jogger At My Heels:
Each morning he races up the steep
steps of the gully and then down again
on the path I take
to buy my daily newspaper.
I recognise his exhalations just behind
and apologetic grimace running back,
urging me to move aside
to let him through,
but today I understand him
more fully than before.
Hearing my own heavy breathing
as I walk up the gigantic slope
I’m sure he’d like to say, Don’t rush
don’t rush.
… but he’s in too much of a hurry.
Copyright 2024 Libby Sommer
Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com
Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. 🙏 I really enjoyed reading Jogger At My Heels. What begins as a simple morning encounter gradually becomes a tender reflection on ageing, pace, patience, and our changing understanding of one another. The ending—“Don’t rush, don’t rush” followed by “but he’s in too much of a hurry”—is wonderfully understated and stays with the reader.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem 😌
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh, this is so good! i love how you’ve made a poem out of this situation, that most of us have had at least once, and you’ve described it so perfectly
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Beth. I’m glad you related to the poem 😌
LikeLiked by 1 person