Racing Time

In my youth I challenged you to a race -
My lungs and legs were powerful and strong,
And throughout my lifetime I set the pace
Over a course that was distant and long.

For most of those years it was I who lead,
While you trailed far behind no where in sight,
And during those moments I ran ahead
Propelled by the joy and beauty of life.

But towards the end you appeared from no where,
And for a while I matched you stride for stride
Till I dropped back and stopped, not from despair,
But knowing in my heart that I had tried

To go the distance in a race with Time
Over a course that had no finish line.