Running - a poem

I run a lot, since I like to run.
You should try it too,  it's a lot of fun.

I start running early at 5 am,
to beat the Chennai heat,
That is just something I like to say,
watch the sun rise is the real treat!

I hear the morning azaan,
when I run by the Adyar mosque.
I smell the fresh sambar,
cooked by the girl in blue frock.

On beaches of Chennai, my home,
New Delhi through the smog and din.
Through Hong Kong once, I had a stop-over,
I run in any city I am in.

In the french quarters of Pondicherry,
through the morning markets of Bombay,
in Santa Cruz, so many times,
through San Francisco too, but only one day.

I ran with a policeman once,
who was much taller than I am.
She had magical stories to tell
of far away Asom and Mizoram.

I have run with a few children,
who are no good at it;
but if someone else runs past them,
could they just watch and sit?

I run with this dog everyday,
in the morning coolness she basks.
She owns and reigns the streets,
before people start their tasks.

Dogs are a considerate lot,
they run around me to-and-fro.
They would leave me far behind if they didn't;
oh! I run so slow.

I ran with a horse one day,
I beat him at a 5 k by a shot.
The horse was only walking by the way,
while I ran with all I'd got!

I run across people who look at me,
And loudly wonder why I run.
I look at people who zip past me,
and silently ponder why I can't.

When that happens, I feel bad and tired.
But then I remember why I run:
It's not because I am good at it,
but because it is so much fun!