on the trail

driving hoofbeats canter into my ears

reined in as horse and rider approach

the horse an Appaloosa

flanks rust splattered

warrior strong and graceful

dancing a pas de deux

on the home stretch

 

an older couple

so comfortable together

their wrinkles match

 

silent pulls

slice greychop

as rowers dart dragonfly quick

buoy to buoy

 

runners gliding loose

gravity a step away from disappearing

and joggers slog

each step a time punch

 

dogs walking their humans

happily

through muddy trails

 

pairs sunk in earnest conversations pass

revealing fragments of betrayals

littering the path with scuffed passion

 

 

David Trudel      ©  2013

 

 

Working Out

It isn’t work

Rarely is it outside

Leisure in is a more accurate description

For my sessions on my home gym

As my strength grows

I get addicted to the endorphin rush

So maybe leisure in isn’t quite it either

Pleasuring falls closer to the mark

Just as misleading

Since if I started to talk about one hour pleasuring sessions

Well, you’d shake your head in wonder or disgust

So I’m happy if you’ll appreciate my flat abs flatly

That aren’t worked out or pleasured

But I won’t really care

I’ll just exercise

At my leisure

 

 

David Trudel   © 2013

 

 

Workout

Endorphins swim to the beat of a forgotten playlist

I don’t remember putting these tunes together

But they work

Backbeats and all

Contraction followed by release

Working out the kinks in my soft tissues

Repetitively drumming home this impulse

For improvement

Firmly

Resolutely, yet nothing new but the order

 

David Trudel  © 2013

 

 

One of the things about regular exercise is that it is a little addictive.  I fortunate enough to have a home gym and find it relatively easy to meet my “5 days out of every 7” rolling target for workouts.  The past few months I’ve been increasing the duration of the workouts, I’ve gotten back into cycling and I’ve have been happily releasing endorphins into my system as a result.  So last week, when I suffered a bursitis attack and had to stop all activity except for slowly hobbling around the place, it was a little like going cold turkey from any other addiction. It wasn’t nearly as bad as tobacco but it contributed to a sense of unease and anxiety that has been bothering me.  Today, after far too long, I was able to get back to the Bow-Flex to work up a sweat and regain a little equanimity while releasing some internal tension.