Call of the Banded Ribbon

Poised at the start line she watched;
the other contenders, the spectators, the officials …
Flags of a million countries flew high
Her country was well known, but not well represented
either in the stands or in the medal tally
She was always a late beginner
She even woke up late for practice
Her couch would yell
You want to make your dreams come true? Wake up!
Wake up she did not,
yet, no one gave up on her
In the beginning her flair took her strides ahead of the rest.
Soon competition became absent
and she had only herself to contend with
It got painful,
upsetting herself
yet she rejoiced every new defeat
Then one day she began running
fast and hard.
Her determined strides were past caring
Neither the distance nor the sharp cobbles stones, deterred her resolve
The scenery whizzed past, time flew by,
life attained a renewed momentum,
yet it was not clear where she was headed.
Alone and happy, she moved along
saw new places, met new people
and created waves in a terrestrial arena
She sprouted wings and flew above the rest;
felt the air on her face,
and a thrill under her wings
En route the flight of fancy
she once again found herself poised;
fists clenched, body arched, feet firmly rooted, eyes set at the ribbon
she ached from holding back the sprint
Coiled in kinetic concentration,she waited for the gun of life to go off