Goin' Out West

Out on the Westway one spring
evening my misjudged boot just
jammed in the synthetic turf
my knee went one way
                    my ankle
              the other
         it was quite a circus
it's hard to convey the level
of pathetic limping and whimpering
like the most wounded puppy which
dogged me for day after week after

Fast forward six months the
creaky gang are lagging behind on
Angel Falls via Willow Creek Trail

Derek and Agnes choose me to forge on ahead
to the meeting place lest our guide the
holy Maddie becomes alarmed by the missed deadline

Proud to be chosen as the 45-
year-old messenger boy, I plug in
and jog down the path. Time to test
the ankle and the knee, meet my
guardian angel and deliver some
vital message before expiring in
the Athenian manner her sunlit
face the last - 

The clumpy boots and the dust don't help but
when Goin' Out West comes on and we're into
our stride the body knows the score
once more and the lifeforce it will be admitted
rises with a pulse affirming

I am the courier, I will meet the deadline
I am a man on a mission and I'm back
baby coming back to you my imaginary
Maddie who's secretly enjoying
a few hours peace
away from the crinklies