What The “Before” Of A Run Feels Like
Elite runner, writer and filmmaker Alexi Pappas reflects on the "before" of a run in a beautiful poem.
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Before
Before,
there is this moment
when no one wants to be alone.
As our fingers,
who have always had the company of one another,
prefer mittens to gloves—
we who about-to-be-by-ourselves
look around,
one final time connect
with somebody or the ant
crawling by our toe
and who unlike
us may not be okay
once it begins.
I am not yet aware what kind of somebody I want,
or for how long.
I do know
before I go,
I need to know somebody knows
I’ve left.