I Owe it to My Friend

by Timothy J Stewart
(Johnsburg, IL)

Time was passing quickly by,
And leaving me behind.
The muscles that once were my pride,
Were getting hard to find.

If I was going to be in shape,
In this life again,
I knew the time had come,
I had to do it then.

So, I said a word up to the Lord,
To help me through the miles
And started of upon a run,
That first one held no smiles.

At the end of that first week,
Of running the same old boring course,
I reached the end of my driveway,
I felt as strong as a newborn horse.

At the end of the second week,
I had to face the facts,
I wasn’t going to make it,
Running got the axe.

It was about that time I met a man,
Who seemed much worse off than I.
He asked if I would run with him,
Just to help the miles go by.

Against my better judgment,
I said of course I would.
That day, I ran a mile more
Than I thought I could.

I found out what I needed,
To help me through a run.
It was someone to talk to,
That really made it fun.

Then, just inside a half a year,
We entered in a race
And to the surprise of everyone there,
I set the winning pace.

“I owe it all to my friend,”
I said while pointing to my side.
But, no one was standing there;
It hit me, then I cried.

That man who came to me,
So many weeks ago,
He didn’t need my help at all.
He was there to help me go.

I had to stop and think about
All the things he said.
It’s funny how something so simple
Never entered into my head.

For I was the one who had asked for help,
And that is all that he had done.
But, instead of giving me inner strength,
The Lord had joined me on the run.