Morning Lines #16- A Cycle of Things

                 A Cycle of Things

                by ME

It's early

There are few cars on the road

Most are going north

I head off to the south.

I mount carefully

Adjusting my balance

The pedals catch the gears

At first

The way is downhill.

I zip my jacket up to my neck

The wind whirls at me

Making my eyes water

My fingers curl around the brakes

But I don't squeeze,

I breathe..

On level ground

I look

And see houses waking in the sun

Pushing their working occupants

Out the door

Rushing for a boat

Another morning.

Then the pedals resist and I 

Prepare to shift into

A lower gear

My hands clutch the handlebars

As I push and strain to keep moving

Just at the top, the front tire wobbles and weaves

As I fight to stay on.

Later, at night

Re-living the feelings in my head,

I cycle the downhill,

The straight and narrow,

The upside,

And remember that each time

I come back to level ground,

Again.