Ten by Eight

Ten by eight is a monochrome film sheet;

Ten by eight is the perfect picture size;

Ten by eight is a Barbara Cartland photo

Ready framed for Grandma – what a lovely pink surprise.

Ten by eight can be a snappy silver snare drum;

Ten by eight can be a model scene of war;

Ten by eight could make a decent garden shed

Or an urban chicken coop with an automated door.

Ten by eight is the size of the patio

Measured in steps – well at least it is in mine.

All around the dryer and the plant pots and the deckchair

I wend my merry way when the sun sees fit to shine.

Say it’s 26 steps for a solitary circuit,

I’d need just under 400 laps in a day

For the gadget on my wrist to spark digital fireworks;

This is lockdown athletics in a most surreal way.

In the private carpark through a gate from the patio

The space measures out at 50 steps by 10;

That’s 93 laps, give or take a little,

To keep up my steps and my mood approaching Zen.

Ten by eight can be the size of a certificate

Stamped and signed and emblazoned with your name;

Will I feel like a winner at the end of this marathon

Or just like a pawn in some dumb god’s game?

1 May 2020