I run with a painstaking stride
mile after aching mile

I run to reverse
my amputated father's
alcoholic thirst

To kiss his wounds

Each step excruciatingly
Stitching back together

Digit by digit
Foot by foot
Ball and socket
Limb and shank

Restored to humanity
at some point
where time is in joint
beyond sense and infinity

Salving the gangrene
with a sacred prayer cloth
steeped in the bitter vinegar
of my blood sweat and tears

My utter belief