Engines in the Mire

Tires spin, churning black earth,

Mud sprays high, coating metal and skin.

Engines roar, deep and guttural,

The crowd leans forward, cheering every splash.

Fenders vanish under sticky weight,

Each wheel fights for purchase,

Each gear shift a gamble,

Each throttle squeeze a shout against gravity.

The truck lurches, wobbles, fights the pull,

Suspension groans, exhaust hisses,

The horizon disappears in brown waves,

Yet forward is the only law.

Spectators gasp as the front end lifts,

Then plunges into the mire,

Momentum and madness intertwined,

A ballet of power and stubbornness.

And when the finish looms—or doesn’t,

Victory is measured not in distance alone,

But in the roar of triumph, the mud on your face,

And the thrill of defying the muck, the mess, the machine.