Nike

My runners have a message
emblazoned on the side:
Just do it.
A slogan to inspire us all
to run the miles,
last the distance,
succeed in life.

Just do it.
An all-purpose, one-stop slogan
with special offers,
dreamed up by some advertising guru
on Madison Avenue
who wouldn’t know the real Nike
if he fell over her.

Which he might,
if he climbs Mount Olympus
on a hot Hellenic day,
wearing his expensive runners
with tight, pressed jeans
and a superior expression.
(The tourist from the bus
who looks like Dolly Parton
only bigger, thinks he’s cool.)
A legend in his own lunchtime,
full of hot air and coq au vin.

But ah, that Nike!
A goddess with class, looks, allure
and wings. The Goddess of
Strength, Speed and Victory.
Our friend might glimpse her
on the mount, hanging out with
Zeus, Apollo and their lot.

But I suspect she took off
when she saw him coming,
because she knew he couldn’t
do it.



Cathy McCallum