Fatigue finished the boy.
He fell across the line -
but resisted staying grounded.
Skinned knees made his lips
tremble. No smile accompanied
his hands as they slapped gravel
chunks away. He didn't look
down to see if blood beaded.
Rising, he found his father's
eyes in the cheering
crowd and saw well done
glistening on the verge of
I'm so glad you're mine.
