FROM BEGINNING TO END. As the 2004 Tour de France wound through its final stages, I penned the following poem in reflection of the three-week event. I updated it to reflect this year's stage dynamics. Again this year the epic captured and held my imagination from beginning to end. There were more stories to tell than came through the popular media--and more than I could share in “My Annual Amateurish Tour de France Updates” e-journal or at
"The TdF for the Rest of Us" blog. I’m a little sad that it’s all ending again; even with the exultant outcome, but not sure my anticipation could be strung out much beyond this. Hope you enjoyed the Tour. Write if you want to talk about it.
Tour de France
rolls toward Paris
battle scarred
road warriors glide
home
Thru cold rain
slipping, sliding
the best fall
some wounded go
home
Sprinters fly
thru flat stages
glory shines
on but one back
home
Heights emerge
and climbers surge
digging deep
up the steeps toward
home
Escapees
blindly tempt fate
breakaways
get caught before
home
Discos pace
the peloton
few keep up
and Lance leads them
home
Trial time
Saint-Etienne
crowds loom large
to see Lance charge
home
Seven wins
unrivaled feat
draws closer
as Armstrong rides
home
Champion
maillot jaune
legend lives
now Lance can come
home
# posted by John Franklin Hay @ 5:26 PM