When You Walk

"You certainly know it,

You’ve been there before,

That craving to take a walk,

Don your runners, head out the door.

You know that feeling,

That sweet spring in your step..."

When You Walk

You certainly know it,

You’ve been there before,

That craving to take a walk,

Don your runners, head out the door.

You know that feeling,

That sweet spring in your step,

When you’ve been doing daily walks,

Because you then feel full of pep.

You feel lighter and more buoyant,

Not sluggish with weight,

Which is how you do feel,

When you never get out the gate.

You love the fresh air in your lungs,

And the sun on your face,

And there is no rush as you walk,

Just go at your own pace.

You hear the wind in the trees,

And the birds as they sing,

Sometimes listening to music,

A grooving beat is your thing.

You know it only take minutes,

You don’t need to do it for miles,

In order to feel all those benefits,

That make you happy with a smile.

It really doesn’t matter,

If the rain is pounding down,

You always say you’re ‘wash and wear’,

Rainy weather doesn’t make you frown.

Only in slippy ice,

Or in very heavy snow,

Do you curb your enthusiasm,

And decide not to go.

Senior survival kicks in,

And you decide if there’s safe surfaces,

You’d rather stay upright and healthy,

With no sprains, breaks, or crutches.

But, when you don’t go outside,

And you don’t do your walks,

You feel sluggish and slow,

Your legs drag and they squawk.

You feel heavy and old,

You lose the spring in your step,

Because you aren’t getting out to walk,

You feel like moving’s a schlep.

Keep that youth in your body,

Don’t just ‘talk the talk’

Don’t sit here just thinking about it,

Get out there and walk!

You know you will feel great,

Energized and proud of yourself,

Because you got out and did your walk,

A healthy blessing in itself.

By Lise Parton