You See It Your Way, I See It Mine

I heard about a children’s book that retells popular fairy tales in verse.  It’s called Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer.  When you read the poem forwards, it tells the story from one perspective.  When you read the poem backwards, it’s from another.

Inspired, I’ve written a reverso poem of my own about my and A’s divergent attitudes towards trail running.  The question is: which one of us is right?

Me

This trail is long

and I hope

we're almost done.

We've barely hit the dirt but

I long for asphalt.

Who would ever think

I love it out here?

It's hot.

We are alone.

Shit.

Running in rush hour is

tough but

not like the wilderness.

There's always a chance you might

trip!

It’s a

crazy thing,

hitting the unknown trails.

I'd prefer

our routes are always familiar, that's why

we are city runners.

A

We are city runners.

Our routes are always familiar, that's why

I'd prefer

hitting the unknown trails.

Crazy thing,

it’s a

trip!

There's always a chance you might

not like the wilderness.

Tough, but

running in rush hour is

shit.

We are alone.

It's hot.

I love it out here.

Who would ever think

I long for asphalt?

We've barely hit the dirt but

we're almost done

and I hope

this trail is long.