I wonder if my knees ever crack open on this part of the route.
Ah, I'm thinking too much about it. My knees are my hinges,
They keep my sanity doors shut/open while I run downhill.
My left foot outpaces my right foot, my right foot—my left foot.
My hands are pendulums; my legs are bridges
Between what I see and what I feel.
This part of the route is too steep, too sloping,
And my insurance is a cheap fake,
So if my knees ever crack open,
If my body chokes over itself and licks the street,
I'll just lie there and pretend that I am a snowflake,
Just leave me alone! I am six feet
Under this shit!
About the Creator
Andrei Z.
Overthinker.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Songbird
There is always pain in life. It seems as if life isn’t worth living if there isn’t pain involved. To grow is to know pain. To love is to know pain. To learn is to know pain. Children are cruel. They poke fun at anything they can notice that is different about another. They migrate into groups of the haves and the have nots, but on the outskirts of those groups are the undesirables. The ones that don’t fit into any mold offered to them.
By E.N. Gussler4 days ago in Humans
Comments (21)
I really liked the analogy of knees beings hinges with this story, Andrei! I loved how the words flowed through my mind. Thank you for sharing with us!
check this https://vocal.media/poets/fictional-poetry
They keep my sanity doors shut/open while I run downhill. ....
Clever wordplay as always, and I love it! 😁
Andrei, I love your use of metaphor and the way you create a vivid sensory experience in the way you narrated the action of running. Great work!
Jeez, the image alone made me laugh and you painted it so perfectly. Congratulations
awesome loved it! Congratulations on Top Story!!!♥️♥️💕
Great work! Knees!
Congrats on the TS
Congratulations on Top Story! Hooray for overthinking (always better than underthinking, whatever the consequences)!
Literally my thoughts when running 🔥😅
Fabulous!!! Congratulations too!!!♥️♥️💕
Lol idk if I feel “inspired” but I was definitely entertained ☺️😁 great writing!!
lol! Well done, Andrei on this getting Top Story! Very well deserved, loved this poem! And the imagery you brought out was quite something!
🤣 I went for a short run yesterday and I mean very short, but my body did it and now I’m so fit I think I’m done! ✅ Although if I do go running again I will undoubtedly be thinking about my knees cracking open. Thanks!
Just like Mackenzie, I laughed when I saw the inspirational tag! I loved the licks the street part. I'm gonna use that from now on. Let's say I'm driving and someone calls me. I'll answer and say "Hey I'm licking the streets now, I'll call you back!" I'm so sorry, I tend to make jokes at inappropriate times. I love your poem so much!
I love the image of your knees as hinges and "sanity doors". Great metaphor and "licks the street" - so good. No-one wants that! Loved it.
It is quite a precarious balancing act, the bipedal motion. Forward or backward. Weirdly enough (if we're starting with the physical aspect) I've actually contemplated that before happening to the knee... and that contemplation can become fear. The pigeons would begin to feast on you if you lay like a snowflake, beginning with your wounds. Think of those ceaselessly pecking hungry beaks. Maybe this isn't about physical running, but the thoughts that run and jog all trying to outpace each other. If the metaphorical bridge of cognition were to give out just like the knee where does that leave the rest of the apparatus. Maybe I'm overthinking. Thank you again for your blunt and playful originality, it deserves more recognition.
After recent knee surgery, I can't imagine trying to run down hill. Definitely be licking the street. Lol.
Mmm. I read your last few lines and the tag "inspirational," and then laughed at the irony. Those tones did not mesh, lol. Particular images are sticking in my brain: "knees as hinges" "sanity doors" "body chokes over itself and licks the street" "lie there and pretend I am a snowflake." Your imagery is startling. I always enjoy reading your poems, you know. I owe you more reads, off to fulfill them now ;) I totally get the insurance thing. I've been thinking more and more about how I'd want to avoid a prolonged illness, just let nature do its thing as much as possible. Similar to lying as a snowflake, I suppose. I just don't want the burden of expense, lol.
Ah, the joy, thrill, exhilaration of running freely downhill combined with the sense of impending doom should we lose control. My oldest brother used to ride his bike down the hill by St. Anne's Hospital in our hometown. At the bottom of the hill were two sets of railroad tracks. The challenge was to ride as fast as you could without losing control of the bike over the tracks. He didn't succeed. He told us he slid half a block on his tongue. Six feet under sounds about right.