Matthew R. Callies

Eight Seconds of Dust

The gate explodes—eight seconds, that’s the line,

A breath between the living and the thrown.

Lane rides the storm no stopwatch can confine,

His grip the only kingdom he has known.

 

The crowd becomes a distant, roaring sea,

Each buck a hammer striking bone and will.

He rides for more than fame or victory—

Some hunger only motion seems to fill.

 

Bright buckle dreams and neon barroom light

Can’t soften what the arena always claims.

The clock is brief, the danger always bright,

And glory flickers close beside the flames.

 

Eight seconds blaze—then dust reclaims the sky.

A legend rides; a young man learns to fly.