{death Isn't About...} For H.B. Poem by Shane Markie

'No one told you when to run;
you missed the starting gun...' ~ROGER WATERS~

'Death offers
no false starts. It is not
a referee with a pop gun
at the starting line
of a hundred yard dash.' ~JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA~

Death isn't about
your telling me
you can beat Wilma Rudolph
on one prosthetic leg.

If you continue saying this,
I will take and hide your prosthetic
and beat you to death with it.

Death isn't about
your telling me
you can beat the one and only
Jim Thorpe who was the
world's fastest Indian
on or off any American reservation

with one hand tied behind your back
while hopping on one foot.

Why do you continue saying this?
Both your mouth and bowels run
but your feet never move;
neither does your mind.