By Mackenzie Myatt
[Editor’s note: Mackenzie Myatt is a local cyclist and writer from Musquodoboit Harbour who interned with the Cooperator through Canada Summer Jobs. She has competed internationally for the Canadian National Mountain Bike Team racing several World Cups and World Championships. She has always loved poetry and recently started sharing poetry about the idiosyncrasies of life on a bike. She has a BFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta. You can find more information about her on her website: mackenziemyatt.ca. She is publishing a collection of poetry Fall 2023 with Strong Girl Press.]
I Can’t Meditate
I can’t meditate
Not yet
I tried
The closest I can get
Is riding hours from my mind
I start with
Did I start the laundry
Did I wash the dishes in the sink
Are the leftovers ready
For the way that I’ll be
Miles from here
Mentally
I won’t be worried about everything
I’m thinking
About what I want to be
If there’s anything I can change
If the answer is
Be patient
The best you can do is wait
smell the metaphorical roses
The dust in my nose
The salt in my ears
The sweat in my eyes
My legs whispering over and over
It stings
But it feels good too
The legs tick over
I have no more decisions to make
Only to enjoy the moment
Get out and get back
And when I get home
I know that most things can wait
And if they can’t wait
I’ll make them
Because right now I want nothing
And nothing is better than that.
Molasses
I’m pedalling molasses
Sticky, thick and slow
My knees are groaning
My diaphragm is loading
My eyes are dry, but open.
Molasses is an acquired taste
I still struggle with it, but I can see the appeal
My dad pours molasses on homemade waffles
I used to be mesmerized by the path that it took
Seeping into every crack and crevice
Pooling under my nose.
Riding like this, is like that
I’m not sure I like how it smells
But it tastes good
And if I close my eyes
The air feels like silk
And my legs are ready to take me wherever I want to go
Even if it's sticky, thick and slow.
