Lillian Morrison’s “The Sidewalk Racer or On the Skateboard” is a short, fun, concrete poem written in free verse. In it, Morrison incorporates imagery, metaphor, and alliteration to visually represent the art of riding a skateboard and perhaps even connect it to living life in general.

In the first few lines, Morrison describes how the racer swerves and curves on the asphalt. She makes it possible for the reader to practically see the skateboard racer in their mind, to hear the sound the racer makes on the asphalt, to feel the speed that the racer is going at, and even to identify with the racer.

Skimming
an asphalt sea
I swerve, I curve, I
sway, I speed to whirring
sound an inch above the
ground;

In the final few lines, she compares skateboarding with sailing and driving vehicles; she implies that a skateboard is useless without a rider.

I’m the sailor
and the sail, I’m the
driver and the wheel
I’m the one and only
single engine
human auto
mobile

Perhaps Morrison makes a metaphor for life. Life is all about swerves and curves; we all face our challenges on our own and attempt to find our tempo. We’re both the racer and the skateboard; the sailor and the sail; the driver and the wheel. We’re the single-engine human automobile attempting to navigate life and hoping we're on the right path.