The Race of Our Lives

We are in the race of our lives
Whether or not we know it, running slow or fast
While time, our enduring opponent
Is patient, plodding, turning the future into the past

And we, like the hare of our folktales
Dart hither and thither, diverted and delighted
Rushing from moment to fleeting moment
Beyond the narrow track, the finish line unsighted

We are in the race of our lives
Though we may linger, and languish, and squander
As if we have all the breath in the world
And it matters not how we live and where we wander

For we, unlike the tortoise of our sun’s daily march
Mistake speed for progress, and miles for meaning
Chasing each mirage, be it gain or glory or love
Straying from the course, distracted by our dreaming

We are in the race of our lives
Yet in the final strait, who cares how or where we ran
It matters only that we took part at all, and in the end
That we know ourselves better than when we began