Stealing victory away
A Poem on Self Deception
Fridays are for poetry and exploring a creative side of writing about my training experiences in sport. I hope you enjoy!
“You’re not that fast”
Ha! Just not true at all
“You’re not fast at all”
But I don’t get passed by other runners
“You don’t try hard enough, you’re scared”
Wait, what do you mean I’m scared?
“You never run in a way to been passed by others”
But they don’t go on the trails, that’s not my problem
“Are you starting to see how this works, you take the easy road but want me to make it look like the hard road. Too bad, you’re just taking the easy way, ALWAYS”
Maybe you’re right, maybe I’m not that good, where else am I deceiving myself?
“YES, that’s what I want you to think, you’re just lying to yourself about the good”
Wait, you want me to think I’m lying, but am I really lying?
“What do you mean, are you really lying, I’m telling you you’re lying”
Yes, but you also told me you lie to me to get what you want
“Oops, that wasn’t what I meant, let me just…”
LET ME CHECK MY TRAINING LOG TO SEE WHO’S RIGHT
“Oh, look at that, you aren’t as bad as I was trying to portray”
THAT’S NOT THE TRUTH, WHAT IS THE TRUTH
“You are fast, you aren’t scared, you’re just comfortable in your own skin”
Clearly not too comfortable given the way this internal dialogue unfolded
“Thank GOODNESS for the training, it helps us reconcile ourselves to the truth, good and bad”
Thank you for trying to keep me honest, I get you’re not really meant to do it,
looking for shortcuts and all, that’s the nature of the mind afterall
“Thank you for understanding”
Together: Mind, Body, and Spirit
“Together”