There’s a four hour limit
To sit at a desk.
A four hour limit
For athletes in college
To practice and train
The rest is for study
Four hours for others and one for yourself
Keeps you sane and on top of your health

Does God laugh at us
Or cry?
Is he an active sadist
Or a just another observer with some skin in the game?
Does he wave his hand over our planet
As if to summon a crystal ball
And wonder what will be revealed?
Is he an absentee father,
Spreading his seed throughout the universe
And trusting Mother Nature to tend to the growth and discipline?
Or
Does he hide as infinite smallness
Pervading every corner of the creation, hoping to one day be put back together again?
Is God Humpty Dumpty, and we are inadequate?

How many bridges
Have I burned with my tongue today?
I have revealed my tendencies
My instincts
That make me me
But separate
Me
From
You

For every action
An equal and opposite re-action
So high on kiddie crack
I ran to the gym
And now I am depleted

I love lifting heavy weights
When my mind has outrun my body
Both need exercise to thrive
If only I could contrive
A more perfect system

Where I plan
My mind’s and body’s work
Then food and drugs
Won’t rule my life
And peace might come more naturally

I guess I feel like a bottle rocket
That spiraled out of trajectory
And hit a wall
All this fire
All this energy
If properly directed
Would’ve shot to the moon
And burst out in glory
Where it could have been admired
For its speed and drive
And the heights it reached
While its dying embers bathed in moonlight
Satisfied
But instead it sputters and spins and wastes its power
In ten different directions
Panicking and causing fear
Before dying a dud
Thank God for a boyfriend and friends on the ground
So I know which way is up

Find joy in the process
There are no mistakes
Though you don’t know the end of each path that you take
Give thanks even though your testing seems long
In darkness remember a song

Trust in the process
That brought you this far
Come sunny days, fog, rain, or cold 
And when you are tried and purified
You will shine like a medal of gold

Adapted for my Athletes from “Rejoice in the Lord” Hymnal, 1978

Delicious temptation
To run and not look back
Full speed until heart attack
Smoke lungs until black
Sweet escape
In a fast song
A swig of muscat
A fork on your tongue
To be one with the moment
One with the future
Slave to an idea
Trapped in your words
Men aren’t born perfect
We all need training
Don’t be lazy
But don’t go crazy

Easily excitable
I still kill spiders
This too will pass
I assure him firmly
So sensitive as children
We avoid and defend
Far past our youth
When will I grow up

This music that feeds me
A bold melody
Layered over anger
Passion lofting soaring
Escaping the past
Confrontation and defeat
Wealth and pride
My destiny and birthright

No longer sad, worried or anxious
Living a dream, my thoughts are my future
Now that I know that I cannot fail
All I need is the strength to relax

Burning alive
I gave all I could
But feeling so frail
I needed a nap
I should have took one
A little sooner

Sickness like clockwork
I needed something
But didn’t know what
Stress or relax
Eat or sleep
Now they have won
And I am done