breech position, spiked

fingers strike ice, toes point

leg and shoulder

pull

thru

curve

women on blades, cutting

to ribbons old narratives

of princess and maid

these are rocketeers, pledged

to the swiftest line down

twisting paths, but weighted

each one the same, a fixed mass

given equal opportunity, one

by one

they fly.

 

of course, the course is laid

and athletes weighted well

upon the day, but along the way

the small matters, national wealth

resources, and government

positioning vis a vis these

surrogative wars

fly

down

the track

invisible

edges.

https://olympics.cbc.ca/video/todays-events/luge-feb-women-luge-1st-2nd-heat/

The image here comes from Pixabay.com. They provide an amazing array of really great Creative Commons licensed images. This one is by Iván Tamás of Budapest.