Never alone

When I run, I can feel my father run beside me
It’s not the father I remember, it’s dad as a boy
He is tall and slender, his stride long and smooth
The sounds of our shoes scraping on the gravel path
I can hear his breathing
He has left this with me in my genes
This and the image of my dad and his brothers
Chasing the tide on the beach

When my mother died, my uncle at her bedside
He remembered her galloping to school on her horse
Bareback with no bridle, her hand grasping the mane
Her cotton shift flapping, teenage mom laughing
I feel her with me when I run, when I turn up the trail
I take the time to look up at the light
As it passes through the pine forest
She has left this with me in my genes