Our paths crossed today, you and I.
I the pilgrim walking up to the church, you
Fellow worshipper, on your way back down.
Running naked as the day you were born. Not a stitch on.
Exhilarated.
Radiant.
Our eyes meet, for a fleeting moment,
I see you.
Your face bursting with all the joy of
a child on Christmas morning,
I smile
Mirroring the innocent glee, I see, as you are
reborn,in this moment, merging,
You and She.
I feel the wind between your thighs,
air caressing each contour of your ripe form.
Exposed to the elements, all of you dancing with all of life.
Natural.
Raw
Vital energy emanating freely from you as you open
to all that is.
Life force streaming forth, coursing through your veins
as you embrace the rush of un-bridled pleasure.
Your whole being aglow, as you greet your whole self.
Unashamedly,
unflinchingly,
unapologetic.
Who are you, naked-runner?
Do you sit behind a desk all week?
Do you stare death in the face every day?
Marking your calendar, you plan your escape.
Saturday is the day
You allow the masks, the duties and the roles to fall away
with the clothes, You strip it all back
You Surrender completely, as you find your centre.
I feel your lust for adventure,
your desire to feel the sun and the air on your skin,
all of it, all at once,
Palpable.
Perfection.
I see you.
Vibrant as a garden after the summer rain,
Refreshed.
Rejuvenated. Your cup full.
Each stride a silent prayer
I am here
I am alive
What winds stoke your souls’ fire, naked -runner?
Do you leap with wild abandon because, well…
You only live once.
Or is your blatant disregard for convention an act of rebellion,
intended to wake people up to the invisible cages in which we dwell,
trapped in our own inner versions of hell.
As You run. Naked. Bare skin drinking in the light.
The sight of you is a gift to my soul, where others see a blight.
I feel your invitation to live life to the full.
Come with me, you say…choose life.
Make a choice, you urge. For it is yours to make.
Stay small, fit in, play it safe, or choose to be brave,
to allow all of you to be seen,
For you are glorious.
As you breeze past me naked-runner, I celebrate you as one who has seen the light,
That I too may see.
Others you pass stare on Disbelievingly
Disapproving.
The sight of you threatening their very foundations, they cling
to old beliefs, unable to make space for you in their world.
Begrudging you your freedom.
They see you, naked-runner,
A joke
An odd-ball
A danger.
But what danger in your presence lurks?
Where I see only purity of intent,
The beauty of a human body opening to joy.
You remind me to continue on my quest, my spirit lifted,
Determined to feel it all, in this human body,
in this life I have been gifted.
Your devotion helps me to keep the faith, that there is more to life,
so much more if we dare
to bare all.
Thank you, naked-runner, for reminding me that I too can be free.
That if you can do it, so can we.
Photo – Photo by Brett Jordan
