first outdoor run of spring

i was grateful to be at Citizens Park,

running the paths, navigating the melting ice--

the first outdoor run of the spring,

when everything, though muddy, is fresh.

to be able to breathe outdoor air,

to own the gift of respiration.

the natural rhythms of the body,

in coordination.

grateful for fresh outdoor air, for life, for health.

for the calm that follows the storm.

for the freshness that melts the ice.

for the exhilaration of being mobile and alive.

it seems more precious to me than ever

partly because of the 

deliverance

from the constant recirculated air of winter.

because much of the season,

we were in

tight rooms 

and long eternal hallways.

to have a taste of spring,

of raw fresh soil outside muddying my running shoes,

a burst of freshness that I don't take for granted,

at least not today.

thank You for recovery

and the relative peace after the blizzards.

the quiet picking up of our lives

and holding them up to the sunlight.