Skateboarding

On my walk through the park today, only
a single skateboarder was taking in the warm
fall weather. I saw that he was moving
slowly, deliberately, even somewhat
awkwardly, as if this were only his
second or third time. He climbed less than
halfway up the quarter-pipes and caught
only a few inches of air off the jumps.
This middle-aged, barefoot man in black
jeans and t-shirt, sporting a smartly trimmed
graying goatee, traversed the course several
times before he noticed me. We nodded
and smiled, each knowing what it truly
means to be alive, more than just breathing.

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Jim Tilley has published three full-length collections of poetry and a novel with Red Hen Press. His poem, On the Art of Patience, was selected by Billy Collins to win Sycamore Review’s Wabash Prize for Poetry. His next poetry collection, Ripples in the Fabric of the Universe: New & Selected Poems, will be published in June 2024. Find on Instagram jimtilleyny & Website jimtilley.net