I am the man who walks up escalators!
Or if given the option of stairs
bounds up them with even less care,
Simply to compete
with those who stand at ease
upon their ascending machine.
No! I do not care if I win!
Do you take me to be that vain?
It is the very pump of my muscles
that drives my legs!
The joy of use
that marks my move!
What do I stand to lose?
When I give up my youth
and stand upon their lethargic chariot
Spent, tired, and tragic.
I see no future, I feel no doubt
No opaque overwhelming cloud.
I hear only laughter in the call
of swift and pounding footfall.