Author of The Complete Runner is the guest,
"How should you breathe?" he's asked, "What is the best
Surface for running?" "Is the backbone jarred when you run?"...
Now that the days are longer, now that the sun
Is up where it blinds me when I'm running west
And the plovers are leaving, all too soon the rest
Of the signs of winter down here will be gone.
Still, Dad in his old sweat suit and salt-caked shoes
Sends me a wave this time, abrupt and shy,
Without turning his head, and others smile
As they pass, and now my mind cuts out, while
In that sudden sort of silence that ensues
When an engine stops, the cliff s blur by....
Glistening above the cartops like the snow
That banners off the drifts in a big blow,
And once I'm running I watch the falling away
Of waves heaved house-high, and the steady play
Of the cold light on wave-slopes bursting snow
Over the snowy rush and crush below --
Too much for surfers: wave-watchers here today.
And up the beach, a girl sitting quietly
On a big rock, with those waves roaring in.
And it is Marilyn, I recognize
As I come near; sun lights her gold hairpin,
And I start wondering if her blue eyes
Are seeing more than the rest of us down here see.