Runners

When two runners meet,
assuming they don't both
run away from one another,
they follow the process
described below:

Step 1. One runner flees.

Step 2. The second follows in pursuit.

Step 3. The first slows down,
out of breath,
side aching,
hunched over,
stares at the ground.

Step 4. The second catches the first,
out of breath,
side aching,
hunched over,
stares at the first.

Steps 1-4 are repeated
indefinately. Which runner
flees and which chases
is arbitrary and typically varies
across iterations.

Eventually the runner fleeing
mistakenly runs in an unfamiliar
direction, suddenly, unexpectedly
reversing course; this is known as
the exception condition.

Condition:

Confused,
the two runners smack
into one another,
bodies slap and
crack hard, ears
screaming, a
piercing ring.

Silently,
like cotton seeds
in spring,
softly floating,
drifting across
golden fields,
swirling,
heads dizzy,
bodies aged,
grasping for breath,
a final,
feeble flutter,
they float,
then fall
to rest.