The Athlete

My head knows something

That meant so much to me

But my heart won’t see fit

To let go and set me free

They say never walk

In anyone’s shadow

But I’m walking in my own

I always will, head to toe

But this thing so important

As my sense of touch

Should be something

That don’t mean as much

It’s like there’s this guy I know

Looks athletic, fits the mould

But the game passed him by

As age took hold

I was made to do things

With my hands and a ball

But if I can’t play as I used to

I don’t want to play at all

It’s cruel that I still know

How to do what I always did

When my body reminds me

I’m no longer a kid

I know that being an athlete

Does not define who I became

But it made me who I am

It’s much more than a game

I prayed for one more year

To hold on to all I’d known

Realising like every other

I was not alone

I hope to be at peace

Accept it was simply a phase

A single chapter of many

As brief as my playing days