Life exudes in it's harshest of complexities:
I have built this machine with bleeding hands,
shaped her to slice the wind,
shined her as melanin with polish and sweat,
balanced her with feel in the cold chill
and powered her in heat with iron and steel.
I will become one with her and give her honor.
She will mount the wind like the Falcon.
She will learn speed from the Cheetah
and know no fear for this is where her spirit is free.
Source
So I put on my running shoes.
Tonight I can't hide as I pace myself, breathing,
Letting go with every stride.
The melody of my footsteps and rhythm of my breaths,
Have synchronized into nothing in the past;
A calm stillness inside my head says "...but not now!"
I'm light as a feather so I let myself fly.
The world is a blur, but tonight... I'm alive!!!
On our marks, my competitors hits the track.
Rocketing away as the wind hits our bodies,
The blistering wind slaps our faces enroute the finish line,
We run with every throttle twist taken in time.
I shaved 0.08 secs off the previous 100m hurdles world record
set by Kendra Harrison (12.20s) in 2016.
Now I'm the world champion standing tallest,
And tears start to cascade from my eyes,
The National anthem reminded me:
"The labour of our heros past shall never be in vain..."
But now I'm the hero and my labour has paid off.
“My mum would tell my dad I was going to church
...I sneaked to practice or tell him I was going to a school debate
while I went to an out-of-state competition...", I reminisce.
But my father's ferocious furry couldn't fright me,
“My dad got really mad...when he found out (I was running),
burnt all my training gear and told mum
that’s the last time he wanted to see me in a stadium."
Thinking back how swiftly those years passed by,
I close my eyes and bite my lip, try so hard not to cry.
"Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's call obey": The rest is history.
You were always such a scrapper, a raging thunderstorm -
Tobi Amusan, our pride, a phenomenon without measure,
Record breaker, pacesetter & Inter(National) hero.
Stay steadfast...follow the simmering sun
And undoubtedly be the best you can.