Response to "The Race"

“The Race” surprised me a bit. From the title, I imagined the poem being about a race, which I am almost positive it is. However, it was not explicitly said- another aspect I liked. When I read the title, I immediately went back to my high school track and field days. The first line solidified my memories for me. The first image is a very powerful one; I can remember myself getting more and more frightened before a race, and before long I found it hard to swallow because of the knot in my throat. The poet accurately describes this with the balloon image. I got a bit confused in the second stanza. The poet talks about exhaustion in the character’s legs; however, the next line says “Wearing a coat of sweat.” Are the legs wearing a coat of sweat? Is the exhaustion wearing the coat? Is the racer? Perhaps some clarification on the subject of the second line would help the confusion. I also might use a different word than “belief” for the image the poet is trying to convey in the third stanza. Belief about what? Doubts will be battled by self-assurance or confidence, but belief is a bit vague to me. Also, “toothy grin” sounds a bit cliché to me. However, I loved the poem overall, especially the final line. I can see a winner of a race, shouting and waving at the audience. In fact, I have seen it-and picture exactly that when I read the last line.