Bicycling

Riding my bike,
I break restraints
of mind and space.
One spin of the pedals,
the driveway gives way.
I'm breaking free
down a tree-lined street.
On a grade,
falling-
standing-
I face into
the quickening breeze.
As I coast,
lulled by the humming
of tires and road,
I see drifting above me
the billowy tops of trees.
Wheels-a-whirl,
I round the turns
that lead to savannahs
of land and sky-
the open countryside.
While climbing high hills,
bathed in the sun's
warm tingling rays,
I hear the chirps and trills
of birds, on the wing or perched.
I feel a special Presence.
I thrill in the harmony
of the natural world.
At the edge of tall inclines
I drop like an eagle
swooping on prey.
Quickly I'm swallowed
by onrushing slopes.
Exhilarated,
I ride the crest
of gathered force
from one hill
into the adjoining other.
In the buffeting wind
I glimpse racing by me
fields-
some green, others tawny brown.
On even terrain,
homeward bound,
I rest my eyes skyward
on towering cumuli
rising and traversing the blue.
My heart is at rest.
I am refreshed.
My being is full!

-By Virgil Gelormino, June l996

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