Walkers

When you're on the down and out, conventional wisdom is to pick yourself up,
Get back on your feet, start walking again.
One step forward, two steps back --
some day the pattern reverses
as long as you keep moving forward,
one step at a time.
Walking down a busy street at rush hour,
I hear a car horn and a driver hailing me,
"Would you like a ride?"
"No thanks," I cheerfully reply.
The driver looks confused so I explain,
"This is my workout today."
A glimmer of light shimmers in her eyes
as she smiles and wishes me well.
Just walking won't cut it; a workout makes sense.
Fit-bits and pedometers measure our steps,
promising to make us fit.
Meanwhile, some walk the malls in frigid weather,
making friends and exchanging copies of India Abroad.
"Did you have a breakdown?"
"Are you trying to get somewhere?"
"Where are you going?"
It doesn't matter why or where, if you're just walking.
Do marchers in Baltimore wear fit-bits as a way of measuring the struggle for justice?
Does anyone offer them a ride?
Perhaps the police do.