The Eagle's Mile by James Dickey

Author:James Dickey [Dickey, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Poetry
ISBN: 9780819521859
Publisher: Wesleyan
Published: 1990-10-14T18:30:00+00:00

Page 32

Twice around

We were going for, cursing and cruising like ghosts, over dog-food bowls,

Over sprinklers passed-out from their spin-off

Of rainbows and I was losing

But not badly, and even gained a little, coming out

Of the water-jump and over the jump-rope, and out of him or maybe

Me surely me burst a mindless deep

Belching blindsiding laugh down the backstretch

Of earth-kegs and dirty cleansing-tools that skinned the dust

From the under-blue, and for one unsettling moment left it

Blazing and mattering. I blazed I felt great I was a great

Plaster stadium-god lagging lolloping hanging

In there with the best: was running pale and heavy

With cement-dust from two wives running

Then coming around coming back

Down the slow lane lurching lorry-swaying:

Now toward two wives making up for making

The gelatin-murmur of crowds, I pounded, wet and laboring,

And then, half a pool

Behind, went into the bell-lap.

I was holding my own

Back there, as we rounded

Past the stands he a long first and I

A world-class second and counting

On my finish or something Yes! My finish to come

From the home turf like an ascension all-seeing

World-recognized poison-proof smoke-proof time-proof

Out of the pool, a rat's climb grappling

Half-a-lap half-a-lap still alive

In mid-stride, louring, lumbering, crow-hopping

Behind the athlete's unhurried

Slack, unearthly footling lope:

I stepped low and heavy

Over the last light rope, smashed water with my sole

Flat climbed, lurched, legged it and duck-footed

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