dailies

my 12 year old self in combat
with my nearly 50 year old self
infra dig redline make bmx bike
i had to do it i had to get on that bike
on the newly constructed dirt track
and ride like that kid at the end of
stephen king's IT
and declare that i can still make magic
yet the hard fact of earth
and the cold insistence of gravity
declared my ride a bust
as i overshot that last turn
my front tire dug into the loose dirt
and i flew over the handlebars
the last thing i knew i was pulling up
my pride from the dust and nettles
of the forest my left arm shredded
my left hip and chest deeply bruised
and i limped toward an infirmary
of belated adolescence 
married to an idiot's resolve
to live as if you were already dead