6) The Runner's Dilemma (Prose / Ballad) Poem by Otradom Pelogo

In 1994 I put down everything I was doing and went for a walk to think for a while. After thinking, I tried to put my life back together; I tried to put all of the pieces that I wanted to keep into some type of perspective. I made a list of some of the things that were most important in my life at that time, played around with the words and letters for a while, and came up with the acronym; Otradom PeloGo. It became my way of saying all the things you should say to others and myself into one simple phrase. As the phrase, it's simply stated as;
(Observe and Travel with Wisdom.
Peace, Love, and God be with You;
Otradom PeloGo.)

After having somewhat plotted a course to follow, I then began to run. I ran through a world that I had never really noticed before and into its' many wonders it had to offer, from the Heaven's to earth, even a few below. I ran through my hometown and into my youth that had slipped away. I ran through my past, it was moving the fastest, yet, I ran into the peace which it also had to offer, which also allowed me to decide which part of it I would keep. I ran through the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

For although forever changing, I knew
I should not be moved by cool winds or
a dark and cloudy sky
For putting it on a pedestal, /
neither causes it to linger / go
around or pass by

It seems impossible my very breath /
acts like a catalyst, only making
it more intense
It seems impossible it's one of the
reasons I'm here, / but before and after,
is when that makes sense

With effluent momentum, like a good friend, /
amusing, enigmatic, and intellectual sort
Good things, / even though familiar / cause
us to think, / to be amazed, / to put up
what seems like a fort

The ellipse can be a difficult road
to run when your past sits with a future
that some times seems bleak
By even the second or third lap, /
I'm not sure if it's trying to make me
mad or make me meek

A sixty second beep, / no matter how
hard to attain, / can sometimes break
a smooth and perfect stride
And the price of a drink, / on my watch, may
or may not seem like a covert place to
blatantly hide

The joys and pains of life on the track is
not the time when trying to push yourself
to the mind's brink
Tomorrow while there between figuring
out love and passion, I'll try to remember
when and what to think

When out there above the clouds, wind, the birds,
it seems like everything and everyone
has something to say
When out there above the clouds, it's a gift
to hear them say hello to this could
be a beautiful day

I try to imbibe a dialogue from
music to poetry to art / before
I close the door
Then I try my best to think of running
a good pace, / then try to think of nothing
less, / or nothing more

Now my quest is a good pace, / a route that's
Straight, which I'm certain that's bound to
bring me closer to the end
To believe a slow pace is better
obfuscates a heart that may take a bit more
scholarship to mend

The songs I run to while out there / range from
gospel, country, and have a cadence which
really seems okay
Sometimes they push me as far as I can
go, / sometimes they can miraculously
shorten my stay

They are songs that span the spectrum from day
one, which I try to think of, to at least
a hundred and four
Some I made up about suffrage, / some made
up for babies / as I contemplated
walking out the door

There are children there, ./ some run parallel
to one another, some I simply call
them GoPe
New and familiar faces, / some warn
us to move ahead, / some / certainly
to extend our stay

Days when the Heavens request the stage,
showing off the sun and the clouds at the
cry of the wind
At night, the moon serenades the stars, /
darkness begins to walk, / play tag with lights, /
as they run, / hide and bend

Yesterday I put it all together
and finally figured out / what it all
really meant
Today at least half of it still made sense, /
the half I could remember, / the half / by
wisdom sent

I've created characters who have helped
me run in this incredible thing we
simply call life
Now those characters I see / bring the
distractions, / the ambivalence of love, /
empathy and strife

Every now and then I begin to
wonder as this symphony begins
setting the world free
A cloud at five thousand, / the purr at
forty, / a smile at two; / we're only
jogging / aren't we

Life is forever changing, it's as
virtuously complex or wanton as
my heart desires
So I push whether I've done good or bad,
for it's the push / that fuels the quest /
of life's zealous and great fires

As it came out of the skies spreading its'
gratuitous and lavish arms from
the land to the sea
Carrying nations upon its' back, even
while mourning; the bride, / highway to
our eternity

At least four of them I can hear yell as
they race and roar beyond the limits from
church to embassy
Maybe someone came a day or two
early, / maybe / someone left in a cloud
of travesty

When a child, I heard them cry at noon with
passion and the tumults which helps make the
world go around
Now I see them on the track as I run,
and the roads, the buildings, even
the Capitol's ground

It really depends on what you wear while
out there on the track, which will determine
what you see and hear
A heart and mind dressed with a positive
perspective, cools and befriends the spectrum
from love to fear

Running away, augments not life, but my
view of the trouble it brings
The dilemma is, it doesn't go
away when I work, run, wail or sing

At the tenth lap I'll be regaled by dreams
whether feeling pain or even good
By the twelfth, I'll try to block it all out,
After one more lap, if it's good, it's wood

When tired I may slow down, on a perfect
day, before the end, I may even stop
Sometimes I run for fun, sometimes
when I feel that my head just wants to drop

Whether it's on the track or the road I
run, the course is always sort of oblique
It's a course, which never ends / and covered
with the answers which we all seek

Whether on the track or the road I run,
my goal isn't to win or reach the top
But it's a course, which never ends, always
Changing, and one which we cannot stop

Still it's strange, for on the road or track
there are days my head sometimes wants to drop
And after dropping, funnier still,
to struggle, to run, or to just stop

Sometimes after five, the cars light up the
field to extend time and to continue play
Sometimes it's lit up by faces, sometimes
it's the reasons I go out the next day

Sometimes I see the house I built there when
lying in the bed on a rainy day
Sometimes I run to dream of far away
places, sometimes I run just to pray

One night I hope to see my long ago
friend, the one which / set my mind on fire
The one which / shared a few seconds, the one
I never knew, but always did admire

After two hours, I run through places
that were never before on field or track
The next day I wonder why I'm prudently
and a priorily escorted back

Two days straight, a month, finally a day
off that I'm certain will feel quite good
Next time, my leg, chest or back, but the whole
body, I'll just have to wish that I could
Broken toys, a lost book, tears as I gate
Makes me move slow, when I feel like I'm late
Sometimes the balky facades I once wore
can compel my heart walking out the door
I can still hear their voices, although their
children and I now live side by side
They are the OP drill Sgt.(s) : the things
we love, dream, build and now vow to abide

A year from now I'll try to wonder what
made me stop this night to think and write
There are a million things I could note, but
the best is Merry Christmas and good night
A love for life and a passion to write

But be careful, for they sometimes laugh and
cry while pushing to the very next phase
For their goal is to make life a straight walk,
More appealing, and less of a maze.