On Your Mark
Mind racing 100 meters a second
Back to the old days when I set the record
Straight, that is, the path I ran
Though none of it was my own plan
Forced to run, but no where to hide
A dad who's your boss, not on your side
Track is life, but it brings me death
I still haven't felt what life is yet
I ran for nine years, starting at five
a childhood lost before it could survive
no other sports, until soccer when I'm older
but at time goes on, Dad's heart get colder
I quit when I as a freshmen in highschool
I was over having a coach who was so cruel
But my coach was my dad and I'll never forget
The days my asthma almost left me for dead
" Your just outta shape, keep going harder"
But breathing wasn't a challenge, I coudln't go farther
I had a condition that he refused to treat
It was listen to him, or I'd get beat
I lived in fear for those nine years
I better go to practice or I'd come back in tears
5 am workouts in the chill of Illinois
My mornings soon lost all of its joy
One day, I was sick of this life
It got to the point when I reached for the knife
I stopped my self and told myself to quit
the life that I had, I decided to spit
I told him I was done with track
It really took him a back
I felt free, like I could be myself
I retired and put my spikes on the shelf
Since then he hasn't been the same
No interest in my life, a total shame
He left my mom, my sister and me
To go and start a new family
he lives in california with two new kids of his own
I sat here for years, hearing my mom groan
She did her best, and I commend her for that
But what I would do, to have my real dad back.
I'm running a new race, its this thing called life
I keep running in circles and can't get it right
But damnit I'm trying to figure it out
Not the life of my dad's, my own new route.