Jogging to Reich

Stuart Rawlinson

Early this morning
as traffic scraped the roads
and traffic helicopters
clogged the quiet sky,
I ran with Steve Reich.

Music For 18 Musicians.
Imperial to metric and back again;
Section I caught my breath
early, head shaking
mechanically in time.

In Section II, I skipped
every fifth step,
I thought, but the time
signatures jolted my
staccato, flat feet.

I got as far as Section IIIA
when my knees collided,
ankles together.
At least my wrists hit
the ground in perfect synchrony.